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MEMOIR 



REV. ELIJAH P. LOVE JOY; 

WHO AVAS MURDERED 

IN 

DEFENCE OF THE LIBERTY OF THE PRESS, 
AT ALTON, ILLINOIS, NOV. 7, 1837, 

BY JOSEPH C. AND OWEN LOVEJOY. 

WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY 
JOHN aUINCY ADAMS. 



NEW YORK: 
PUBLISHED BY JOHN S. TAYLOR, 

BRICK CHURCH CHAPEL, 
Corner of Park Row and Spruce Street. 

1838. 



!i-Ut 







Entered 

Accord.ng to an Act of Congress, in the yea • 1838, by 

JOHN S. TAYLOR, 

In the Clerk's office of the District Court for the Southern District of 

New York. 



STEREOTYPED BY SMITH AXD WRIGHT, 

21G WILLIAM STREET 

NEW YORK. 






INTRODUCTION 

TO THE MEMOIR OF THE LIFE OF THE REV. ELIJAH P. 
LOVEJOY, MURDERED IN THE DEFENCE OF THE LIB- 
ERTY OF THE PRESS AT ALTON, IN THE STATE 
OF ILLINOIS, ON THE 7TH NOVEMBER, 1837. 

In the biographical narratives of the Founder of the 
Christian religion, and of his primitive disciples, there is 
an internal evidence of truth, not less conclusive than 
that of the miracles which they performed. The mira- 
cles were the evidence necessary to prove the authen- 
ticity of his mission to his cotemporaries, to whom he 
was accredited, to whom he revealed the hidden mys- 
tery of their own immortality, and to whom he proclaimed 
the' laws of their own nature, the obligations of mutual 
benevolence and charity -.-love upon earth-and ^^/. here- 
after, were the everlasting pillars of his system of reli- 
aion and of morals. So congenial to the nature of man 
^re this precept, and this promise, that on presentmg 
them in their simplicity to the mind, it would seem as i 
they must meet the universal acquiescence and assent 
of every intelligent human being. But before the pre- 
cept of brotherly love, as the universal law of human 
kind, carried out to its logical conclusions, empires and 
kin<.doms, principalities and powers. War and Slavery. 



4 INTRODUCTION. 

were destined to fall prostrate, to crumble into dust, and 
to be extinguished on the surface of the globe. 

The first extensive operation of the Christian system 
of religion and morals, was to demolish the religion of 
Rome, the mistress of the world, and at the same time, 
to abolish the ritual portion of the Jewish religion — sys- 
tems of government as well as systems of religion, were 
to be overthrown, subdued, annihilated by this simple 
ray of supernatural light, and with those systems were to 
be overcome and vanquished all the selfish and sordid 
passions of man's nature, and all the aggregations of 
physical human power. 

In the progressive revolutions effected by the Chris- 
tian system of religion and morals, it was in the order of 
Providence that its operations should be slow and gradual, 
embracing a period of many thousand years. 

Its first converts were among the humble and the 
lowly — the diseased who had no physician ; and the 
vicious who had no friend. Its first apostles were fish- 
ermen, publicans, and tent-makers. The earthly con- 
dition of the Messiah was to be the son of a carpenter, 
and the first of his disciples above the rank of a centu- 
rion, is known only as having oflered a sepulchre for his 
grave. 

Tor the propa«,ration of his doctrines he disclaimed 
once and again, with undeviating perseverance all re- 
course to an arm of fiesh. He declared that his king- 
dom was not of this world. He declared that he came 
not to destroy, but to fulfil. He commanded his disci- 



INTRODUCTION. 5 

pies to render to Caesar the things that were Caesar's, 
and he paid for his own person the tribute to Rome. 

Yet no sooner was his system of morals di.sclosed than 
the Scribes and Pharisees, the Priests and the Rulers 
of the Synagogue, discovered in it the inevitable down- 
fall of the Levitical Law. They accordingly seized, 
condemned, and executed him as a malefactor. 

That the religion of the Roman empire was also to be 
exterminated by this kingdomof Heaven, the denomination 
given by the Saviour to his new system of doctrines, 
was not so soon discovered, but could not long be con- 
cealed. The ionominious death of the teacher was in 
the ways of Providence, the most effective means of 
spreading abroad his faith. The apostles, to whom he 
had left the charge of preaching the gospel to all nations, 
encountered wherever they went, the persecution of the 
multitude, and of their rulers, and as the Baptist's head 
had fallen at the mandate of a king to satiate the ven- 
geance of a rebuked adulteress, his accomplice Stephen 
became the victim of a lawless rabble, for proclaiming to 
them the doctrines of universal love and eternal life. 

In those doctrines, however, there was a principle of 
vitality, destined to survive all persecution, and to tri- 
umph over all human power. The moral precepts of 
the Levitical Law, purified and refined, shone with un- 
dyinnf lustre in the new dispensation — its rites and cere- 
monies, its Priests and Levites, its sacrifices of blood, its 
visions, and its dreams, gave way to a simple and spi- 
ritual form of worship, the working of miracles, no longer 
necessary for the authentication of faith, was withdrawn 
1* 



6 INTRODUCTION. 

from the disciples of the cross, and the new system of 
religion and morals was left to make its way in the world 
by the perpetual miracle of its celestial origin, self-evi- 
dent by the internal demonstration of its irresistible 
power, and its superhuman perfection. 

In the space of three hundred years it accomplished 
the annihilation of Rome's three hundred thousand gods. 
The beautiful and stupendous system of the Heathen My- 
thology, melted before its effulgence into air. The 
Caesars of imperial Rome bowed the knee to the name 
of Jesus, and Constantine, the master of the world, was 
taught by better proof than the visions of the night, that 
the cross of Christ was the sign by which he was to 
conquer. 

It was not only over the false gods of paganism, that 
the religious and moral system of Christ was to prevail 
— nor was it only the cumbrous and sanguinary ritual of 
the Jewish dispensation that it was to supersede. The 
Christian system, meddles not directly with the organi- 
zation of human government. It commands obedience 
to the laws. It enjoins reverence to the powers that be 
— but it lays down fir^st principles, before which, carried 
to their unavoidable conclusions, all oppression, tyranny 
and wrong must vani.sh from the face of the earth. 

That all mankind are of one blood, and that the rela- 
tion between them is that of brothers. That the rule of 
social intercourse between them is that each should do 
to all, as he would that all should do to him. This is 
Christianity — and this is the whole duty of man to man. 

Tlie conflict of Christianity is with all the evil pas- 



INTRODUCTION. 



sions, aided by all the physical and all the intellectual 
powers of man. The physical and intellectual powers 
are indeed instruments adapted equally to the use of 
Christianity and of its adversaries. It is by the unaUer- 
able and eternal truth of its principles, that the ultimate 
triumph of the kingdom of Christ must be extended 
throughout the habitable earth. 

Its first great victory was over false religions. In the 
progress of ages, its slow, gradual, and progressive ad- 
vancement has been over tyrannical governments. It 
has weaned the human mind from the toleration of gov- 
ernments founded only upon conquests, and acting only 
bv arbitrary will and physical force. It has prompted 
the heart, and armed the hand of the Christian man to 
resist and overthrow them. It has taught him that the 
duty of obedience to government is founded upon a cove- 
nant of mutual respect for the unalienable natural rights 
of man : and that however this covenant may be violated 
by power, the rights can never be extinguished, and may 
always hy power be resumed. 

It is the pride and glory of the confederated North 
American Republic, that in the instrument of their first 
association they solemnly declared and proclaimed these 
truths, derived by clear unequivocal deduction, from the 
first principles of the Christian faith, to be self-evident — 
and announced them as the first principles both of their 
Union and of their Independence. 

The second great victory of the Christian system of 
morals was over oppressive governments — and that vic- 
tory has not yet been consummated. The absolute des- 



8 INTRODUCTION. 

potisms of antiquity, under which the lives, persons, and 
property of the subject were utterly unprotected from the 
will of the despot, vanished very early by the adoption 
of the Christian faith as the religion of the Roman em- 
pire. But that life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness 
were inextinguishable rights of all mankind, had never 
been proclaimed as the only rightful foundation of human 
association and government, until the Declaration of In- 
dependence, laid it down, as the corner stone of the 
North American Union. 

It was a discovery in the combined science of morals 
and politics. It was an electrical spark which passed 
invisibly through the whole chain of the Christian na- 
tions, seen only at the instant of its emission — felt at 
once, though unseen by all — and from that day through- 
out the whole circle of the Christian nations, a simulta- 
neous struggle has been in constant operation, though in 
forms infinitely diversified, to new model their govern- 
ments and political institutions, to approximate the prac- 
tical realization of those self-evident elementary princi- 
ples. 

But Government, whether civil, ecclesiastical, or mili- 
tary, is not the only nor the most pernicious agent of 
tyranny and oppression. The laws of war, and the insti- 
tutions of domestic Slavery, have been far more effective 
instruments for converting the bounties of the Creator to 
the race of man into a curso, than all the tyrannies of em- 
perors and kings that ever existed upon earth. War is a 
perpetual violation of the riglit of human beings to life, 
liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and Slavery is no 



INTRODUCTION. 9 

more than the base-born progeny of war. The Chris- 
tian system of morals, as delivered by its Founder, pro* 
hibits war not in direct, but in implied, unqualified terms. 
This prohibition has not yet had its full development, 
among the nations which profess the Christian fnith. 
They receive the law, and acknowledge its obligation'?, 
without yielding obedience to its precepts. But tlie 
Christian nations, in their practice among themselves, 
have in many important respects, mitigated, and in 
others, wholly abolished the most cruel usages and es- 
tablished laws of ancient war, among which hereditary 
Slavery was by far the most oppressive. In the wars 
of Christian nations between themselves, it has long 
since been totally abolished. The Mahometan and 
Heathen nations still continue to make slaves of their 
prisoners of war, and Christians, after discarding forever 
the practice of enslaving one another, have but recently 
begun to reflect upon the necessary consequence in the 
reasoning of moral principle, that the same precept which 
forbids them from holding as a slave their Christian 
brother, equally interdicts them from defiling themselves 
with the pollution of Heathen or Mahometan bondage. 

The first cries of conscience against the engraftment 
of African Slavery, upon the Christian communities of 
the European colonies in America, were heard precisely 
at the time when the contest of liberty began between 
Great Britain and her own colonists in North America. 
They were raised by Anthony Bcnezet, a native of 
France, who had become an inhabitant of Pennsylvania. 
From him they passed to Granville Sharpe in England. 



10 INTRODUCTION-. 

The labours of these two humble, obscure, powerless 
Christian philanthropists, first awakened the civilized 
world to the atrocious immorality of Slavery and the 
slave trade. Little less than a century has elapsed since 
this struggle of right against oppression commenced, and 
it has resulted in a conventional agreement of all the 
Christian nations, identifying the African slave trade 
with the crime of piracy. 

But if the African Slavery be piracy, human reason 
cannot resist, nor can human sophistry refute the con- 
clusion, that the essence of the crime consists not in the 
trade, but in the Slavery. Trade has nothing in itself 
criminal by the law of nature, or that can be made so by 
any law or compact of nations. It is one of the natural 
rights flowing from the condition of man ; from recipro- 
cal w^ts and reciprocal good will. Trade, therefore, 
can be made criminal only by the nature of the article in 
which it is carried on. It is the Slavery, and not the 
purchase and sale, or the transportation of the slave, 
which constitutes the iniquity of the African slave trade. 
The moral principle then, which dictated the interdict of 
the African slave trade, pronounced at once the sentence 
of condemnation upon Slavery. 

Slavery had from an early period been introduced into 
the colonies of all the European powers of the western 
hemisphere. It existed in all the English colonies, 
though by one of those unaccountable inconsistencies 
which mark the imperfection of all human institutions, 
the mother country spurned from hor own soil the 
Slavery which she established and supported in her 



INTRODUCTION. 11 

colonies. It was even during the progress of the war 
for American Independence, solemnly settled by the de- 
cision of England's highest judicial court, that the slave 
of an English West Indian, if brought by his master to 
England, no sooner set his foot on English ground than 
he became a freeman. The same decision was made 
by the Supreme Court of the Commonwealth of Massa- 
chusetts, as a necessary consequence from the principles 
of the Declaration of Independence, repeated in the 
Declaration of Rights forming part of her State Consti- 
tution. 

The subject of the ensuing memoir, the Rev. Elijah 
P. Lovejoy, was a native of the Commonwealth of Mas- 
sachusetts — born in a state where the abjuration of the 
authority of Great Britain, and of the institution of 
Slavery, had been universally held to have been con- 
summated by one and the same act, he had like all the 
citizens of that State, born since the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence, been bred and nurtured in the belief that 
Slavery was an institution, politically incompatible with 
a free Constitution, and religiously incompatible with the 
laws of God. Led by his destiny, in the pursuit of hap- 
piness, and in the fulfilment of his religious and moral 
duties, to the western region of his country, the funda- 
mental condition of whose political existence was the 
exclusion of all Slavery and involuntary servitude, he 
there fell a victim to the fury of a band of rufhans, stung 
to madness, and driven to despair, for the fate of their 
darling Slavery, by the terrors of a printing press. 

That an American citizen, in a state whose Constitu 



12 INTRODUCTIOX. 

tion repudiates all Slavery, should die a martyr in defence 
of the freedom of the press, is a phenomenon in the his- 
tory of this Union. It forms an acra, in the progress of 
mankind towards universal emancipation. Martyrdom 
was said by Dr. Johnson to be the only test of sincerity 
m religious belief. It is also the ordeal through which 
all great improvements in the condition of men, are 
doomed to pass. The incidents which preceded and ac- 
companied, and followed the catastrophe of Mr. Love- 
joy's death, point it out as an epocha in the annals of 
human liberty. They have given a shock as of an 
earthquake throughout this continent, which will be felt 
in the most distant regions of the earth. They have in- 
spired an interest in the pubUc mind, which extends 
already to the life and character of the sufferer, and which 
it is believed will abide while ages pass away. To re- 
cord and preserve for posterity the most interesting oc- 
currences of his life has been considered an obligation 
of duty, specially incumbent upon the surviving members 
of his family, and in the effusions of his own mind, and 
the characteristic features of his familiar correspondence, 
the reader will find the most effective portraiture of the 
first American Martyr to the freedom of the press, 

AND the freedom OF THE SLAVE. 



MEMOIR. 



CHAPTER I. 

When the prophet Elijah was taken up beyond the 
gaze of his companions, it was but natural that the heir 
of his mantle should cherish his memory, and record the 
more important incidents of his life. So would we now 
trace the history of our brother Elijah Parish Lovejoy, 
dear indeed in life, but more beloved in death. 

In the year 1790, our grandfather, Francis Lovejoy, 
removed from Amherst, N. H., to the town of Albion, 
Kennebec County, Maine. This region was then an 
uncultivated, indeed an almost unbroken wilderness. 
Only here and there, at great intervals, could the eye 
catch the lonely column of smoke curling up through the 
thick and rich foliage. With all this extended forest 
before him, in which to choose a home, our ancestor 
selected a beautiful eastern slope, terminating by the 
shore of a small lake, about five miles in circumference. 
Around its shores he set his traps, and over its surface 
dragged his lines. For these were favourite amusements, 
even at that season when desire fails. He died October 
11th, 1818, aged eighty-five. 

In the severe labours incident to an early settlement, 
among the dense forests of Maine, our father, the late 
Rev. Daniel Lovejoy, passed his early years. His mo- 
ther was a truly devout woman, whose memorj' he ever 
2 



14 MEMOIR OF THE 

cherished Avith lively and grateful recollections. Guided 
solely by her instructions, and assisted by her prayers, 
at the age of seventeen, after a season of deep mental 
distress, he gave himself to the covenant God of his 
mother. Two years after this, relying upon his own re- 
sources, and the never-failing energy of his character, he 
left the cleared spot of his father's farm, in order to obtain 
an education preparatory to the work of the ministry. 
He became a resident in the family of the late Rev. 
Elijah Parish, of Byfield, Mass. In the academy at that 
place he received a respectable education, and in the 
person of his benefactor, acquired a warm friend, faithful 
unto death. 

He commenced the work of the ministry in 1805, and 
continued to labour in this, to him, delightful employment, 
with zeal and general acceptance until his death, August 
11th, 1833, aged fifty-eight. His character is briefly, 
but correctly given in the following extract from a ser- 
mon preached at his funeral by the Rev. Thomas Adams, 
of Waterville, Maine. 

" It will be interesting to dwell for a moment on the 
character of our departed friend, though this can hardly 
be necessary, speaking as I do to those who knew him 
well. I regret that my memory has not more faithfully 
retained the circumstances I have heard him relate, con- 
cerning his early religious history. The impression of 
deep interest it excited remains, though the detail has 
escaped me. lie was not brought into the kingdom of 
Christ, borne, as it were, on the tide of excitement, but 
it was when all was dark and cold around him, when 
professing Christians of any denomination were exceed- 
ingly rare, when there was almost every influence, but 
that of the word and the spirit of God to oppose, it was 
in circumstances like these, that he came forth, and took, 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 15 

it may almost be said, a solitary stand as a disciple of 
Christ, and, as is generally the case, with those who, in 
such circmnstances, espouse the cause of Christ, he 
iirmly maintained his stand. To this, I cannot doubt, 
you will all bear witness. Whatever imperfections you 
may have discovered in his character, and there are none 
without imperfections, — you never, I will venture to say, 
you never suspected that he was ashamed of Christ, or that 
he was unwilling, in any circumstances or in any society, 
to be known as a follower of Jesus. Never was he 
moved either by the sneers or frowns of an unbelieving 
world. His principles he was ever ready to avow with- 
out palliation or concealment. As he was ardent and 
decided in his feelings, he did not always, perhaps, exert 
that conciliating influence which one of a diflerent tem- 
perament would have done. Peter had not all the soft- 
ness and tenderness of John, but he was, nevertheless, a 
disciple, and perhaps the peculiar energy of his character, 
might render him the more extensively useful. As a 
minister of Christ he was highly valued. The native 
vigour of his mind, and the ardor of his feelJVigs, over- 
came, in a great degree, the want of that early culture, 
which he ever considered important and desirable, as a 
preparation for the sacred ofllce, and threw entirely into 
the shade those minor deficienccs which the more critical 
hearer might, perhaps, generally discover. The character 
of his ('evotional services showed that he had much inter- 
course with heaven. His mind was evidently habitually 
imbued with the spirit of devotion. As he was sul)ject to an 
unnatural elevation and depression of spirits, this would 
of course occasion an inequality in the character of his 
public performances ; but they were generally such as 
those of cultivated minds, would listen to with interest 
and profit, and he often rose to a high degree of excel- 



16 MEMOIR OF THE REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 

lence. To his brethren in the ministry he has ever been 
an interesting, as well as highly valued and proiitable 
associate. His labours as a minister have been much 
with our feeble and destitute churches, and to them his 
services have been uniformly and highly acceptable. 
To the people of God throughout our land, he has ever 
been a welcome guest, and the number is great of those 
to whom his memory will be precious." 

Our mother, who survives the tragical death of her 
son, was born at Winslow, Maine, February 1772. 
Her father, the late Ebenezer Pattee, Esq. of Unity, and 
her mother, Mary Stinson, were both from Georgetown, 
Maine. Their ancestors originated in Scotland. And 
here we cannot forbear to give this pubHc testimony to 
the faithful instruction, and pious example of both our 
beloved and honoured parents. They not only dedicated 
their children to God, but with great diligence labom-ed 
to train them up in the fear of the Lord. And if any of 
them have done, or shall do any thing worthy and good, 
it is but the reflection of that excellence which always 
shone bright before them, in the example of their parents. 



CHAPTER II. 

Our eldest brother, Elijah Parish Lovejoy, was born at 
Albion, November 9th, 1802, just thirty-five years previ- 
ous to the day of his burial. Three brothers preceded him 
to the grave ; three yet live and two sisters. In childhood 
and youth he manifested the elements of character, 
which were fully developed in the trials of his last 
years. He was courageous, firm, and persevering. 

When he had once taken a stand, he was sure to 
maintain it to the utmost of his power. Less than four 
years were numbered, when he began to exhibit his 
ruling passion, — an ardent desire for knowledge. At 
this age he read with fluency in his Bible. His letters 
were all learned, by his own solicitation, from his mo- 
ther. He would take his book, go to her, and ask the 
name of a letter, and then retire to his seat, until he had 
marked its form, and indelibly lixcd it in his memory ; 
and then again to his mother for the name of a new let- 
ter. In the same way, he not only learned to read, but 
acquired much, and varied knowledge. Throughout his 
youth, the ends of the day saved from the axe, the 
plough, and the scythe, were all employed in the dili- 
gent use of books. When the small theological library 
of his father was exhausted, he had recourse to a public 
one, of a more varied character, in the vicinity. The 
stores of this also by weekly visits, were very soon 
transferred to his own mind. I lis memory was uncom- 
monly retentive. While at the sabbath school, his 
teacher one day remarked to the class, that they miglit 



18 MEMOIR OF THE 

increase their lessons for the next Sabbath. In the 
leisure hours of the following week, he committed the 
119th Psalm, and some twenty or more hymns to go 
with it. Poetry he drank in Uke water. By reading 
any piece of one or two pages twice, he could accurately 
rehearse it. The writer has heard him repeat one hun- 
dred and fifty Hymns from Watts at a single recitation. 
In all the exercises of the district school of which he 
was a member, he evinced decided superiority. One of 
his mates lately remarked, that it was impossible to do 
more than gain a place next the head, for he that was 
there could not only spell the words, but also pronounce 
them in their order without the book. When the school 
was divided by what is called " choosing sides," his 
name was always first heard. 

Nor was he first in the school-room only. He en- 
gaged with great zest in all the sports of his early com- 
panions. Swimming was our weekly, and almost daily 
amusement. A very considerable portion of the bottom 
of the lake, we have before mentioned was visited, in a 
competition to see who should dive the greatest number 
of feet. Mud or clams was the only evidence admitted 
as proof that the effort had been successful. A depth of 
twelve or fifteen feet was often reached in this danger- 
ous, exhilarating sport. Elijah being once bantered 
by his companions, swam the whole width of the lake, 
three fourths of a mile, and back again without stopping. 

Under the forming hand of his assiduous mother, with 
a few months in each year at the district school, the first 
eight(!en years of his life were passed. At this time he 
set his heart strongly upon obtaining a public education. 
He spent a single quarter in the Academy at Monmouth; 
during which he read thoroughly Virgil entire, Cicero, 
and Sallust. He had studied Latin but two or three 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 19 

weeks previous to this. His preparatory studies were 
continued at intervals in China Academy ; and he entered 
a sophomore, in Waterville College, September, 1823. He 
was assisted in defraying the expenses of his education by 
one whose gifts are in every department of benevolence, 
tlie Rev. Dr. Tappan of Augusta. The writer pursued his 
studies preparatory to entering college with his elder 
brother ; and he can truly say, he has not since met 
with a scholar, to whom the ancient authors appeared so 
nearly vernacular. 

Occasionally he employed a leisure hour in the writing 
of poetry. One specimen is given, written previous to 
his entering college. With the allowance for youth, and 
limited advantages, which the indulgent will make, it 
may be read with some interest. The Poem is entitled 
" Europe." Having painted some of the revolutions of 
that continent, he now speaks of one to come still more 
overwhelming : 



" But Europe's fields were drunk with blood, 

Drawn from the martyrs of their God ; 

The sword of vengeance long had slept, — 

But justice still its vigils kept : 

Heaven guarded with a jealous eye, 

The day of retribution nigh. 

'Twas come ! then fell the awful blow, 

And Europe drank the cup of wo, 

Till Heaven, appeased, withdrew its hand, 

And mercy saved the sinkhig land. 

Back to a state of bondage turned. 

Yet Freedom in their bosoms burned ; 

And still Ihey wish, in slavery bound, 

The prize oft sought but never fomid. 

An awful calm has filled their sky ; 

Presage of some convulsion nijh: 



20 MEMOIR OF THE 

Like the low vapours deep, and still, 

That hang around the sunny liill, — 

Ere some dread tumult shake the skies. 

And all the heavens in anger rise. 

The wild, dark murmurings of despair 

Are kindling into madness there ; 

Tyrants combined must try in vain, 

Its bursting fur>' to restrain ; 

The spark of Freedom, Nature gives, 

Oppressive bondage but revives. 

Taught by the errors of the past. 

Their arms shall meet success at last. 

Ah, who can view the fearful sight, 

When Europe rises in its might ! 

In frenzied madness flies to arms, 

And sounds aloud death's deep alarms? 

O the dread scene that meets the eye, 

As wistful fancy passes by. 

Where the vast plain its surface wends, 

Far as the level sight extends ! 

Whole nations in collected might, 

Fierce for the onset join the fight, 

With beaming hflmcts nodding high. 

And broad swords flashing to the sky. 

With vengeful hearts, that scorn to yield, 

They stain with blood the verdant field. 

In battle's fiercest, wild array, 

Rise the dread tumidts of that day, 

Fresh slaughter bathes th' ensanguined ground, 

Heaps fall on heaps and groans resound ; 

Fell Fury wantons o'er the plain ! 

Death riots on its thousands slain I 

Nature alarmed, her voice awakes. 

Earth to her inmost centre shakes. 

Terror aloft its baimers spreads. 

Death's angel hovers o'er their heads I 

From Etna livid flashes fly. 

And gleam along the blackened sky, 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 21 

Heaven from on high its fury pours, 

And ocean beats its sounding sliores ; — 

Hell's blackest furies urge the fight, 

Despair, wild rage, and dread afl'right ; 

Discord, the worst of all tlie train. 

Swells tiie red horrors of the plain ! 

Fierce and more fierce the combat grows, 

And loud resound the hostile blows ; 

Like lions rushing for the prey. 

Thro' heaps of slain they urge their way, 

Promiscuous mighty chiefs are killed, 

Rage, death, and carnage load the field J 

Oh ! tell not half the horrid tale, 

'Twould make the firmest spirit quail. 

Nations inhumed, unhonoured lie. 

And dim the warrior's flashing eye I 

Lo ! hovering clouds obscure the sight, 

And hide the scene in sable night. 

Turn where the pleasing theme would lead, 

Where Freedom claims lier dear bought meed ; 

Fell tyrants from their tlirones are hurled. 

Justice shall renovate the world ! 

Its even balance hold secure. 

And anarchy shall rule no more : 

No more Oppression's cruel hand 

Spread devastation o'er the land ; 

No more beneath a tyrant's frown 

Virtue shall cast her honours down. 

But white rob'd peace her arms extend, 

And millions in her tcmj)!e bend ; 

From orient beams to western skies, 

Sweet incense from her shrine arise. 

O'er Nature's face new beauties spread. 

And skies their softest influence shed ; 

No blasting star's malignant breath, 

Sliall scatter wide contagious death ; 

The scorching sun its beams restrain, 

Nor billows toss the unruflied main. 



22 MEMOIR OF THE 

Light playful zephyrs fan the trees, 
Sweet odours rise on every breeze, 
Heaven with its gifts descend to men, 
And Eden blooin on earth again." 

The following, written while in college, unless we are 
very partial judges, contains poetic merit. 

THE LITTLE STAR. 

" I would I were on yonder little star. 
That looks so modest in the sUver sky, 
Removed in boundless space so very far, 
That scarce its rays can meet the gazer's eye. 
Yet there it hangs all lonely bright and high. 

O could I mount where fancy leads the way. 
How soon would I look down upon the sun, 
Rest my tired wing upon his upward ray. 
And go where never yet his beams have shone, 
Light on that little star and make it all my own. 

I'm tired of earth, 'tis nought but care and pain. 

Where misery riots on its helpless prey ; 

Small joy, at least that I can fnul, therein. 

But constant grief and gloom — without a single ray, 

That points the wearied soul to a more genial day. 

There is no faith on earth, and truth has flod, • 
Man's heart is steel, unmoved at pity's tear. 
And justice has on iicr own altar bled — 
Love dwells not with us, in some happier sphere. 
It makes its angel heaven to innocence so dear. 

Oh ! there are moments when the trembling soul 
Feels its own ruins, scathed, and scarred, and torn, 
And gazes wildly as the tcmj)est8 howl — 
Thus have I felt — C)h God ! why was I born, 
A wretch all friendless, hopeless, and forlorn. 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 23 

And yet I am, there is a spark within, 

Time cannot quench, nor yet eternity ; 

A boundless, countless space to kindle in, — 

An emanation from tlie Deity, — 

And while lie shines it cannot cease to be. 

But how or where — 'tis doubt and darkness all. 

Or oft times seems so, yet full well I know. 

There is beyond tiiis sublunary ball, 

A land of souls, a lieaven of peace and joy, 

Whose skies are always bright, whose pleasures never cloy 

And if to souls released from earth 'tis given. 
To choose their home thro' bright infinity, 
Then yonder star shall be my happy heaven, 
And I will hve unknown, for I would be 
The lonely hermit of Eternity." 

lie graduated, receiving the first honours of his class, 
in September, 1826. On that occasion he pronounced a 
poem, entitled the " Inspirations of the Muse." 

" Who has not felt, when life's dull stream was low. 

When hopo had fled, and pleasure waned to wo ; 

When all within was drear}', dark, and wiid — 

On feeling's ruins sat despair, and smiled — 

And like the shadows by the mooni)eams thrown 

On chilly waters, faint and cold it shone ; 

Who has not felt the melting charm that stole 

Like healing virtue o'er the stricken soul. 

When some fair hand tiic trembling lyre had swept, 

And waked the Muse, that lingered there and slept ; 

Her magic charms, her tones so sweetly given. 

They tell like dreams which Gabriel brings from heaven, 

And, on the cold, cold regions of the breast, 

Come warm with life in visions of the blest. 

The frozen heart which never felt before, 

Dissolves in grief and smiles its mis'ry o'er, 



24 iMEMOIR OF THE 

And as it weeps the obscuring clouds away, 
Hope gilds the tears with sunshine's softest ray ; 
Peace o'er the tempest throws its rainbow charms, 
Sure pledge of joy, yet timid from alarms : 
The enchanting- prospect opens wide and clear. 
When Beauty blushes where the loves appear ! 

O who that has not proudly counted o'er 
Such hours enshrined in Mem'ry's choicest store, 
When, as the dream of life was flitting by, 
They flashed in brightness on the sufferer's eye ; 
And left their marks transcribed upon his soul, 
Unsullied pages in life's gloomy scroll : 
Gently they spoke in silver notes of bliss, 
As if heav'n stooped to whisper words of peace. 

So can the Muse enchant the yielding heart. 
New hopes, new pleasuros, and new joys impart ; 
When meek and mild, she comes in tendomcss, 
To sooth our sorrows, and our comforts bless. 
And seniles as love smiles o'er the bod of death, 
Or bonds like hope to catch the parting breath ; 
But if, with all her gorgeous drap'ry on, 
She strikes the note that glory rides upon — 
With hues of grandeur deep around her thrown. 
And stately mien that Virtue's self might own — 
'Tis then she kindles in th' expanding soul 
Desires immortal, thoughts above control. 
She chants her deathsong o'er the horo's grave. 
Each arm is mighty and each coward brave ; 
And when the untamed victor of the fight. 
Prepared to use the vengeance of his might, 
Witness, Euripidos, and Homer, thou. 
How oft her strains have smoothed the angr}' brow; 
I/xwed from his hands the pris'ner's slavish chain, 
And bade tlie captive be a man again. 
Slie strikes the chords that round her heart cntwinci 
And wann responses breath on ev'ry line. 



REV. E. P. L0V£J0Y. 25 

The mind, awakened by the burning- strain, 

Starts in a flight whicli seraph scarce can gain : 

Bursts from its mortal siiroud and soars away. 

And basks and revels in unclouded day ; 

Leaves earth's dull scenes with all its cares and woes, 

Mounts into light, and kindles as it goes ! 

Oh ! there are moments when the winged mind, 
Free and unshackled as the viewless wind, 
In full poetic pride goes gloriously 
With cherubim in concert up the sky ; 
Counts ev'ry planet as it rolls away 
In bold relief into eternity ! 

Joins the full choir which sings along the spheres. 
Among the star-crowned circles of the years ! 
In strains that e'en the Eternal stoops and hears ! 
Or vent'rous soars above the thrice-arched sky, 
And bends exulting through infinity. 
In that vast space where unknown sunbeams sleep, 
Or hidden stars their glorious night-watch keep ; 
Whose light still trav'lUng since time first began, 
Through the immense, has never shone on man— 
In those far regions, where no baleful beam 
Slioots on the soul its dark and vap'ry gleam ; 
Where sinless angels play along the air, 
And hymn their loves, or bend in holy pray'r ; 
Here can the mind expatiate unrestrained 
O'er beauties such as fancy never feigned ; 
Or higher still, bow at th' Ktornal shrine. 
Where seraphim with veiled faces shine ! 
Nay lift the curtain from before the throne, 
And gaze with wondering awe upon the Great Unknown ! 
So once in Eden's ground, that blissful scene, 
Wliere fear was not, for guilt had not yet been, 
Man sougiit the temple where his Maker trod, 
And fearless held communion with his God. 
Surelv, if heav'nly wisdom e'er designed 
One peerless gift in mercy to mankind, 
3 



26 MEMOIR OF THE REV. E. P. LOVEJOT. 

One noble proof in the creative plan, 

Which stamps his high original on man ; 

*Tis that poetic fire which bids him rise, 

And claim his home, his kindred in the skies ; 

Which rides in safety o'er life's troublous storms. 

And smiles on death in all its untried forms. 

'Tis a mysterious ardour none can tull, 

And which but few of favoured mortals feel ; 

An enamation from the Deity, 

That claims and proves its immortality ; 

A part of being subtle and refined. 

The pure and hallowed element of mind ; 

A flame which burns amidst the darkest gloom, 

Shines round the grave, and kindles in the tomb. 

When fainting nature trembles on her throne. 

And the last spirit to the heav'ns has flown ; 

In that dread hour, when hushed in deep repose. 

The prelude of creation's dying throes — 

The dead lie slumb'ring shrouded in their pall. 

And wait unconscious for the angel's call ; 

'Tis this shall sound the vivifying stram. 

And wake mortality to life again ; 

Shall snatch her harp, when circling flames arise, 

And soar and sing eternal in the skies !" 



CHAPTER III. 



For several iiiontlis after leaving college, he was en- 
gaged in teaching an academy. In May, 1827, he left 
his friends and native state, with his eye fixed upon the 
inviting and youthful West. Its valleys and rivers are 
not graduated upon a broader scale, than were his ambi- 
tion and his hopes at this period. Yet it was with great 
reluctance that he left the social circle, of which he was 
often the enchanting spirit, to make his home among 
strangers. On his departure, he addressed his native 
land in the following lines. 

THE FAREWELL. 

" Land of my birth ! my natal soil farewell : 

The winds and waves are bearing me away 

Fast from thy shores ; and I would offer thee 

This sincere tribute of a swelling heart. 

I love thee : witness that I do, my tears, 

Which gushingly do flow, and will not he restrained 

At thought of seeing thoc, perchance no more. 

Yes, I do love thee ; though thy hills are bleak, 

And piercing cold thy wijuls ; tliough winter blasts 

Howl long and drear}' o'er thee ; and thy skies 

Frown oftencr than they smile ; thougli thine is not 

Tlie rich profusion tliat adorns the year in sunnier cUmes ; 

Though spicy gales blow not in incense from thy groves : 

For tliou liELst that, far more than worth them all. 

Health sits upon thy rugged hills, and blooms in all thy vales ; 

Thy laws are just, or if tiiey ever lean, 

'Tis to sweet mercy's side at pity's call. 

Thy sons are noble, in whose veins there runs 



23 MEMOIR OF THE 

A richer tide than Europe's kings can boast, 
The blood of freemen : blood which oft has flowed 
In freedom's holiest cause ; and ready yet to flow, 
If need should be ; ere it would curdle down 

To THE slow sluggish STREAM OF SLAVERY. 

Thy daughters too are fair, and beauty's mien 

Looks still the lovelier, graced with purity. 

For these I love thee ; and if these were all, 

Good reason were there, that thou shouldst. be loved. 

But other ties, and dearer far than all. 

Bind fast my heart to thee. 

Who can forget the scenes, in which the doubtful ray 

Of reason, first dawned o'er him ? Can memory e'er 

Forsake the home where friends, where parents dwell ? 

Close by the mansion where I first drew breath. 

There stands a tree, beneath whose branching shade 

I've sported oft in childhood's sunny hours ; — 

A lofty elm ; — I've carved my name tliereon ; 

There let it grow, a still increasing proof, 

That time cannot efface, nor distance dim 

-The recollection of those halcyon days. 

My father too ; I've grieved his manly heart. 

Full many a time, by heedless waywardness ; 

While he was labouring with a parent's care, 

To feed and clothe his thoughtless, thankless boy. 

And I have trembled as with frown severe 

He oft has checked me, when perhai)s I meant 

To do him pleasure, with my childish mirth ; 

And thought how strange it was, he would not smile. 

But Oh ! my mother i she whose every look 

Was love and tenderness, that knew no check ; 

Who joyed with mo ; whose fond maternal eye 

Grew dim, when pain or sorrow faded mine. 

My mother ! thou art thinking now of mo. 

And tears are thine that I have left thee so : 

Oh do not grieve, for God will hear those prayers, 

Which, constantly, are going up to heaven. 

For blessings on thy lone, and wandering son. 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOT. 29 

But time is speeding ; and the billowy waves 
Are hurrying me away. Thy misty shores 
Grow dim in distance ; while yon setting sun 
Seems hngering fondly on them, as 'twould take 
Like mc, a last adieu. I go to tread 
The western vales, whose gloomy cypress tree 
ShaU haply soon be wreathed upon my bier : 
Land of my birth ! my natal soil, Farewell." 

The " Wanderer" was written while on his way to 
the West, after a season of sickness, followed as it will 
show by mental depression. 



(Written on the shore of lake Erie.) 

" Cam volet ilia dies, qure nil nisi corporis hujus 
Jus habit, incerti spatium mihi finiat rcvi : 
Parte tamen meUore mei super alta pcrcnnis 
Astra fcrar." ^'"'^• 

ti The sun was set, and that dim twilight hour, 
Which shrouds in gloom whate'er it looks upon,. 

Was o'er the world : stern desolation lay 
In her own ruins : every mark was gone, 

Save one tall, beetling monumental stone. 

Amid a sandy waste it reared its head. 

All scathed and blackened by the lightnmg shock. 
That many a scar and many a seam had made, 

E'en to its base ; and there with thundering stroke, 
Erie's wild waves in ceaseless clamours broke. 

And on its rifted top the wanderer stood, 

And bared his head beneath the cold night air. 

And wistfully he gazed upon the flood : 

It were a boon to him (so thought he there) 

Beneath that tide to rest from every care. 

a* 



A 



30 MEMOIR OF THE 

And miglit it be, and nol his own rash hand 

Have done the deed, (for yet he dared not brave, 

All reckless as he was, the high command. 
Do thou thyself no harm,) adown the wave 

And in the tall lake-grass that night had been his grave. 

Oh ! you may tell of that philosophy, 

Which steels the heart 'gainst every bitter wo : 

'Tis not in nature, and it cannot be ; 

You cannot rend young hearts, and not a throe 

Of agony tell how they feel the blow. 

He was a lone and solitary one. 

With none to love, and pity he disdained : 

Hie hopes were wrecked, and all his joys were gone ; 
But his dark eye blanched not ; his pride remained : 

And if lie deeply felt, to none had he complained. 

Of all that knew him few but judged him wrong : 

He was of silent and unsocial mood : 
Unloving and unloved he passed along : 

His chosen path with steadfast aim he trod. 
Nor asked nor wished applause, save only of his God. 

Oh ! how preposterous 'tis for man to claim 
In his own strength to chain the human soul ! 

Go, first, and learn the elements to tame, 
Ere you would exercise your vain control 

O'er that which pants and strives for an immortal goal. 

Yet oft a young and generous heart has been 

By cruel keepers trampled on and torn ; 
And all the worst and wildest passions in 

The human breast have roused themselves in scorn, 
That else had dormant slept, or never had been born. 

Take lieed ye guardians of the youtliful mind, 
That facile grows beneath ymir klmJIt/ cait) : 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 31 

'Tis of elastic mould, and, if confined 

With too much stress, ' shoots madly from its sphere,' 
Unswayed by love, and unrestrained by fear. 

Oh ! 'tis a fearful blasting sight to see 

The soul in ruiiis, withered, rived, and wrung. 

And doomed to spend its immortality 

Darkling and hopeless, where despair has flung 

Iler curtains o'er the loves to which it fonilly clung. 

So thought the wanderer: so, perhai>s, \\efeU : 
(But this is unrevealed) : now had he come 

To the far woods, and there in silence knelt 
On the sharp flint-stone in the rayless gloom, 

And fervently he prayed to find an early tomb. 

Weep not for him : he asks no sympathy 

From human hearts or eyes ; aloof, alone. 
On his own spirit lot him rest, and be 

By all his kind forgotten and unknown, 
And wild winds mingle with his dying groan. 

And in the desert let him lie and sleep. 
In that sweet rest exhausted natnre gave : 

Oh ! make his clay-cold mansion dark and deep. 
While the tall trees their sombre foliage wave. 

And drop it blighted on the wanderer's grave." 



CHAPTER IV. 

Ix the latter part of the year 1827, our brother arrived 
at St. Loujs, Missouri. He immediately engaged in teach- 
ing a school. His prospects and feelings at this period 
are given in a letter to his parents. 

Saint Louis, February I8th, 1827. 
Dear Parents : 

Your letter of the 27th December, has just 
been received, and with it the most welcome intelligence 
that the family are all well. I cannot say that I am 
home-sick, but certainly there is no idea on which I so 
love to dwell as home, and the honoured parents and the 
beloved brothers and sisters, whom I have left there. 
Fortune has, in the main, hitherto looked unfavourably 
upon me, since I left home ; but, I begin to hope for better 
things. Still, in all my past distresses one thought has 
consoled me, — / have learned to appreciate a parcnVs love. 

I am now in St. Louis, engaged in teaching a school ; 
and the prospect is, that I shall have a very profitable 
one. I may be disappointed, and I do not sufier myself 
to be too sanguine of the future ; for the lessons of the 
year past have taught me to distrust dame fortune, even 
when she smiles the sweetest. I wish I could say, I 
had learned to contemn alike her favours and her frowns. 

I have entirely recovered my health, it was never bet- 
ter than at present ; but 1 look upon its continuance in 
this climate as doubtful. My appetite, after recovering 
from the ague, was .such as 1 never had before, and in a 



MEMOIR OF THE REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 33 

few weeks my weight rose to 180 lbs. ; being at least as 
much as I could ever claim. I find here many persons 
from the northern states, and the number is continually 
increasing. It is natural that I should regard these with 
an eye of partiality ; but after making due allowances for 
sectional feelings, I am sure they constitute the most 
orderly, most intelligent, and most valuable part of the 
commimity. At the same time, I must confess that there 
are some most lamentable exceptions, and doubtless 
many a Yankee has fled here, whose vices forbade him 
an asylum among the descendants of the Puritans. 

My dear, dearest Mother, I am sorry I cannot say to 
you, for the honour of your oracular impressions, any thing 
which will tend to strengthen their infallibility. I have 
taxed my memory to tlie utmost ; but, cannot find that on 
either of the days you mentioned, any thing happened to 
me, which would warrant my disturbing your slumbers ; 
and which I am sure I respect too much, to interrupt for 
any, except the most urgent reasons. At the same time 
you will allow me to say, that were I as thoroughly con- 
vinced that your " dreams descend from heaven," as I 
am that your motherly kindness will never fail, there is 
nothing for whose fulfilment I would more willingly vouch. 

My honoured Father will permit the observation, that 
though 1 have not heretofore always appreciated, as I 
ought, the motives and the feelings of a father, I hope I 
have learned wisdom in that respect ; and my highest 
earthly gratification would be, to make easy the downhill 
of life of those parents, to whom I owe all that I am, and 
most that I have. 

My dear Brothers and Sisters, I often think you assem- 
bled around the family board, and in my dreams am often 
seated there with you ; but 1 awake and find myself sepa- 
rated from you, by a distance of at least two thousand 



34 MEMOIR OF THE 

miles. But though the chain which binds us together is 
lengthened to such a degree, I do not believe it is weak- 
ened, and oh, may nothing but death divide it. Again, 
as one who knows better than you can, I most earnestly 
advise you, again and again, love, honour, and obey your 
parents. Friends like them, you need not expect to find 
in this world. I must conclude by giving love and affec- 
tion to all. 

Your most affectionate and dutiful son, 

ELIJAH P. LOVE JOY. 

At or about this date the following stanzas appeared 
in the " Republican," of St. Louis. 

MY MOTHER. 

^Menforget, but all shall not be/orgotteji.' 
"There is a fire that burns on earth, 

A pure and holy flame ; 
It came to men from heavenly birth, 

And still it is the same, 
As when it burned the chords along 
That bore the first born seraph's song — 
Sweet as the hymn of gratitude 
That swelled to heaven when ' all was good,' 
No passion in the choirs above 
Is purer than a mother's love ! 

My Mother ! how that name endears, 
Through Memory's griefs and Sorrow's tears ! 
I see thee now as I have seen 

With thy young boy boside thee — 
Thou didst not know, nor couldst thou deem 

The ills that would betide me ; 
For sorrow then liad dimmed that eyo 
Which beamed with only ecstacy ! 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 35 

Ah ! life was then a joyous tiling-, 
And time bore ploasiire on its wing-. 
How buoyant did the minutes move, 
For I was hope and thou wert love. 
Beneath thy smiles I closed the day 
And met them at tiie morning' ray ; 
My infant heart was full of glee 
And every chord struck liarmony. 
And often as there would betide 
Some little g'riefs my lieart to gall, 
I bore them to my mother's side, 
And one kind kiss dispelled them all. 

And I have knelt with thee — when none 

Were near but thou and I — 
In trembling awe before the throne 

Of Mercy in the sky ; 
And when thy melted heart was poured 
Before the Being thou adored ; 
How holy was tiiat prayer of thine, 
Fit offering for a heavenly shrine — 
Not for thyself a wish — not one — 
But smile upon, Lord, bless my son ! 
And I have risen and gone my way, 

And seemed to have forgot ; 
Yet oft my wandering thouglits would stray 

Back to that hallowed spot — 
While feelings new and undefined. 
Would crowd upon my labouring mind. 

O days of innocence and peace ! 
O ill exchanged for manhood's years ! 
When mirth that sprang from j-outhful bliss, 
Is drowned beneath misfortune's tears. 
My heart has since been sadly wom. 
While wave on wave has o'er it borne ; 
And feelings once all fresh and green, 
Are now as though they ne'er iiad been. 



36 MEMOIR OF THE 

• 

And Hope that bright and buoyant thing, 
E'en hope has lent despair its wing ; 
And sits despoiled within my breast, 
A timid, torturing, trembling guest ! 
I dare not look upon the past, 
I care not for the future cast. 
Yet o'er this darkness of the soul 

There comes one cheering beam 
Pure, warm, and bright, of rapture full 

As angel visits seem — ' 
A Mother's love, a Mother's care. — 
My aching heart, there's comfort there ! 

It is as if a lovely rose 
Should bloom amid the icy waste ; 

For while the heart's life-streams are froze, 
Its fragrance o'er it still is cast. 

Weary and worn my bed I've shared 

With sickness and with pain, 
Nor one of all that saw me, cared 

If e'er I rose again — 
Heedless and quick they past along, 
With noisy mirth and ribald song, 
And not a hand outstretched to give 
A cordial that should bid me live. 
And woman, too, that nurse of ease, 
Made up of love and sympathies, 
Ay, woman, she — she passed me by, 
With cold, averted, careless eye ; 
Nor deigned to ask, nor seemed to care 
If death and I were struggling there ! 
Ah ! then I've thought and /W/ it too — 
My Mother is not such as you ! 
How would she sit beside my bed, 
And pillow uj) my aching head. 
And then, in acroiits true as mild, 
« Would I wer- siinering for thee, child !' 
And try to soothe my griefs away, 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 37 

And look e'en more than she could say ; 
And press her cheek to mine, nor fear 
Though plague or fever wantoned there ; 
And watch through weary nights and lone, 
Nor deem fatigue could be her own. 
And if, perchance, I slept, the last 
I saw, her eyes, were on me cast ; 
And when I woke, 'twould be to meet 
The same kind anxious glance, so sweet. 
And so endearing that it seemed 
As from a seraph's eye it beamed. 

My Mother ! I am far away 

From home, and love, and thee : 
And stranger hands may heap the clay 

That soon may cover me ; 
Yet we shall meet — perhaps not here^ 
But in yon shining, azure sphere : 
And if there's aught assures me more, 

Ere yet my spirit fly. 
That Heaven has mercy still in store, 

For such a wretch as I, 
'Tis that a heart so good as thine. 
Must bleed — must burst along with mine 

And life is short, at best, and Time 

Must soon prepare the tomb ; 
And there is sure a happier clime. 

Beyond this world of gloom — 
And should it be my happy lot — 
After a life of care and pain. 
In sad!iess spent, or spent in vain — 
To go where sighs and sin are not ; 
'Twill make the half my heaven to be, 
My Mother, evermore with thee !" 

In the course of the next year he engaged in editing 
and publishing a political paper advocating, the claims of 
4 



38 MEMOIR OF THE 

Henry Clay to the presidency. His prospects of politi 
cal elevation "were more and more flattering, until Janu 
ary, 1832 ; when on account of a change in his religious 
feelings, Lis future life took an entirely new direction. 
Of the commencement and progress of that change, he 
speaks in the two letters here inserted. 

St. Louis, January 2Ath, 1832. 
My dear and honoured Parents : 

Forgive your undutiful son that he has so long 
neglected writing to you. I hardly know what excuse 
to make, and I well know there can be none suffi- 
cient. I hope you have received the " Times" regularly ; 
this will have kept you informed of my existence, and 
also of the nature of my employment. I have usually 
enjoyed good health — much better than I anticipated- 
Poor brother Daniel ! he is gone, and, as I trust, to a 
better world. If so, his departure afTords no cause of 
lamentation. Your letter containing the information of 
his death was safely received. 

My dear Father and Mother, amidst all my wanderings, 

" In all my griefs, and God has given my share," 

I have never forgotten — it has been the chief source of my 
consolation, that day and night you have been interceding 
for me at a Throne of Grace. I have never, for a mo- 
ment, doubted that paternal affection ceased not to plead 
for mercy upon the wayward and far distant son. I knew 
that that love was yours, which neither time nor distance 
could weaken, and think you, that I should forget the 
many earnest and agonizing petitions which I have 
heard ascending from the family altar. Oh, never I I will 
tell you all. Last spring there was a partial revival of reli- 
gion in this city. 1 became somewhat seriously impressed, 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 



39 



I may say considerably so. I attended the inquiry meet- 
ings, and for some time really felt a delight in religious 
exercises. But gradually these feelings all left me, and 
I returned to the world a more hardened sinner than 
ever. At this time the spirit of God is manifesting itself 
in our city in a most wonderful manner. Its efiects are 
such as I have never before witnessed. Meetings are 
held almost every evening, at which individuals of all 
ages and characters attend, and where the power of 
God to salvation is manifested, so that the blindest must 
see and the hardest feel. I have reason to hope that 
the good spirit has again visited me, inviting me to for- 
sake the world and come to Jesus. I own that I hardly 
dare admit such a belief, it seems to me scarcely possible 
that one who has so long Uved in sin, who has resisted 
so much light, and has so often grieved away the Holy 
Spirit, as 1 have, should be again visited with its heavenly 
influences. But 1 hope it is so. 

And now, my dear and honoured Father and Mother, 
will you not pray for me-if possible, with more earnest- 
ness than you have ever yet done ? Will you not plead 
for me the provisions of that covenant into which I have 
been baptized? Oh, if you knew what value I place 
upon your prayers, if you knew what your first-bora 
son would give to be at this moment, kneeling between 
vou before the altar of mercy, while you made supplica- 
Uon for him to the Giver of life and death. I am sure 
you would pray-pray earnestly-pray unceasing y, that 
the Ion-lost wanderer might be restored to the fold from 
which he hath strayed. Oh, forget all my ingratitude, 
my unlhankfulness, and the innumerable instances of my 
undutiful conduct, and think only of the repentant son. 
who intreats, who implores your prayers, that he may 
not perish eternally. Oh, could I this night fall down 



40 MEMOIR OF THE 

at your feet, and ask your forgiveness and beg your 
blessing ; I should feel that there might yet be hope 
even for me, vile, sinful, and disobedient as I have been, 
both to Heaven and to you. But you will not remember 
aught against me, I know you will not. I know that I 
have your forgiveness ere I asked it. But will God forgive 
me, against whom my sins have been infinitely more 
numerous and aggravated ? Can I hope for pardon from 
Him — I, who have done despite to the covenant of grace, 
and have so long counted the blood of the covenant an 
unholy thing ? 

My Father and my Mother, my dear, dear parents, le; 
me remind you of the obligations you assumed, when you 
consecrated me to God in my infancy. By the vows 
you then made, by the gratitude you felt that God had 
given you a man-child, by your love for Him who has re- 
deemed you, by your sense of the worth of an immortal 
soul, let me adjure you to pray for me, — me, the chief of 
sinners, — me, whom, perhaps, you will never see more 
till we meet at the bar of God in judgment. 

I request, my dear parents, that you will call the fa- 
mily together, read them this letter, and then unite ia 
prayer for him, a son and brother who dwells among 
strangers in a strange land. Adieu, my dear and ho- 
noured parents, and may Heaven bless you for all your 
kindness to 

Your unthankful but still dutiful son, 

EL1.IAII P. LOVEJOY. 

St. Louis, February 22, 1832. 
My dkar and honoured Parents, 

After reading this letter, you will, I think, be 
ready to exclaim with me, " God's ways are not our 
ways, nor his thoughts as our thoughts." When this 



41 

REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. ^^ 

letter reaches you, I shall, .f God spares my Ufc and 
health, be on my way to Princeton, in New Jersey, for 
the nu pose of entering upon my studies preparatory to 
;: work of the ministry. I wrote you four weeks since 
last Tuesday, and, as you will have learned from tha 
etter was then in a state of deep distress. Sorrow had 
talen hold upon me, and a sense of my long career m 
in and rebellion against God, lay heavy upon my soul 
But it pleased God, and blessed be his holy name, to 
grant me, as I humbly hope, that very night, joy and 
Uce in believing. 1 was, by divine g--, ei.a led to 
brina all my sins and all my sorrows, and lay them at 
the feet of Jesus, and to receive the blessed assurance 
that He had accepted me, all sinful and polluted as I 

""My dear parents, I can see you now, after having 
read thus far, shedding tears of joy over the return of 
your prodigal son; but oh! forget not to return thank 
to thafGod of the promises, who, as I humbly hope has 
at en.r,h heard your prayers in behalf of one, for whom, 
a il°es, you were ready to say there remaineth no 
Iger a /hope. And surely, you may well join wi^ 
me in saying, that nothing but a miracle of sovereign 
"^rcv colld have arrested and saved me, from eternal 
perduion. How I could have so long resisted the en- 
treaties, the prayers, and the tears of my dear parents 
and the influences of the Holy Spirit, is, to me, a wonder 
cn.irelv incomprehensible; and still greater is my asto- 
Ihmeut, and 'my admiration, that God has stil borne 
with me, still continued unto me ' >^'"«»^■7; ° .^'^ 
spirit, and at last brought me to submit myself to Him. 
1 think I can now have some faint conceptions o bound- 
less, infinUe mercy. I look back upon my past He, and 
a,n ost Ml utter amazement at the perfect folly, and mad- 



42 MEMOIR OF THE 

ness of my conduct. Why, my dear parents, it is the 
easiest thing in the world to become a Christian — ten 
thousand times easier than it is to hold out unrepenting 
against the motives which God presents to the mind, to 
induce it to forsake its evil thoughts and turn unto Him. 
If I could forget what 1 have been and what I have done, 
I should certainly say it was impossible that any one 
could read of a Saviour, and not love him with their 
•whole heart. The eternal God — the infinite Jehovah — 
has done all he could do — even to the sacrificing his own 
Son — to provide a way for man's happiness, and yet 
they reject him, hate him, and laugh him to scorn ! How 
God could suffer me to live so long as I have lived, is 
more than I can understand. Well may He call upoi\ 
the heavens to be astonished both at His own forbear- 
ance, and the unnatural rebellion of his creatures. Do 
Christians ever feel oppressed, as it were, with the debt 
of gratitude which they owe to their Redeemer. Why, 
it seems to me, sometimes, as if I could not bear up under 
the weight of my obligations to God in Christ, as if they 
would press me to the very earth. And I am only re- 
lieved by the reflection that I have an eternity in which 
I may praise and magnify the riches of his grace. 

And now, my dear and honoured parents, how shall I 
express my sense of the gratitude I owe to you — how 
shall I ask pardon for all the undutiful conduct, of which 
I have been guilty towards you ? I want words to do 
either ; but I can pray to God to forgive me, and to re- 
ward you, and this I do daily. Oh, how much do I owe 
you for your kindness to me in every thing, but chiefly 
for the rf'ligious instruction you bestowed upon me from 
my earliest youth ; for your afl*ectionate warnings and 
continued entreaties that I would attend to the welfare of 
my own soul ; and for your prayers, without ceasing, to 



UEV. E. P. LOV^EJOY. 43 

God that he would have mercy upon me, while I had no 
mercy on myself. For all these may Heaven return 
upon your own heads, a seven-fold hlessing. 

I made a public profession of religion, and joined the 
church in this city, on the sabbath before the last, the 
12th of the present month. With me joined also thirty- 
five others by profession, and four by letter. There are, 
probably, as many more prepared to join as soon as the 
next communion shall arrive. You will see by these 
facts that an unusual attention to religion exists in this 
place. God is doing wonders here. The revival still 
continues, and day after to-morrow will commence a four 
days' meeting. How long this state of things will con- 
tinue is known only to God ; but we know that he can 
work, and none can hinder. 

After much prayer and consultation with my pastor, 
the Rev. William S. Potts, and other Christian friends, I 
have felt it my duty to turn my immediate attention to 
the work of the ministry, and shall on the first of the 
week start for Princeton, with a view of entering upon 
the necessary studies. If God shall spare my hitherto 
improfitable life, I hope to be enabled to spend the re- 
mainder of it in some measure, to his glory. Time now 
Avith me is precious, and every day seems an age, till I 
can be at work in the vineyard of the Lord. Oh, my 
dear parents, are not the ways of Providence inscruta- 
ble. How long and how often did you pray that your 
first-born son might succeed his father in preaching the 
gospel, and after you had doubtless given over all such 
hopes, then the Lord displays his power in calling in 
the wanderer. 

I hope to see you in the course of the summer face to 
face ; for if practicable, and within the reach of my 
means, 1 shall take time enough in a vacation to make a 



44 MEMOIR OF THE 

visit to my dear loved home. Oh, how I long to em- 
brace my parents, and brothers, and sisters, and tell 
them what God has done for me. But I feel that I 
ought to say, and I trust lie will enable them to say, 
" His will be done." Surely after all his goodness unto 
us, we should no longer indulge in one murmuring 
thought. 

Brother Owen and brother John, you are now the 
only members of the family who have not professed to 
hope in Christ— to have made your peace with God. 
Oh, let me entreat you, beseech you, not to put it ofT a 
moment longer. Tempt not God, as 1 have done. Think 
of poor brother Daniel, and make your peace with a 
Saviour before you sleep, after reading this. 
Your dutiful and grateful son, 

ELIJAH P. LOVEJOY." 

It may be easily imagined that the above letters gave 
great joy to his parents and friends. The following is 
the joint reply of father and mother. 

Albion, March 19, 1832. 

Mv DEAR FIRST-nOHN, AND LONG ABSE.NT So.\, 

You perhaps may better conceive, than I caa 
express the sensations your two last letters have excited 
in my mind. Your first, found me in a state of deep 
mental debility, to which as you know 1 have always 
been more or less sul)ject. But I am now better— to 
which your letter has contributrd much. There is no 
other way, in which you coultl have given us so much 
joy, as you have done in the full account of your conver- 
sion, and of the intended change of your pursuits. It is 
just what we coul<l have wished, had it been left to us to 
dictate in every particular. Let all the praise and glory 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 45 

be given to God through Jesus Christ. I am glad you 
have made haste to keep His commandments. You gave 
us much more credit than we think we deserve. Our 
faith has been wavering, and our desires far less ardent 
than tliey should have been. Our attachment to the 
blessed covenant has not been in proportion to its value ; 
yet no day has passed when you have been forgotten at 
the throne of grace ; and the blessed promises of the 
covenant have tended more than any thing else to keep 
alive my hope. 

Your last letter produced sensations not unlike those, 
which I presume Jacob felt, when he saw the wagons 
sent from Egypt by his long-absent son. Do not think 
of deferring your visit a moment longer than is abso- 
lutely necessary. Returning from Washington, 1 found 
your letter upon a generous sheet — I read and read it, 
and then we sang the 101st hymn, Hrst book. We then 
bowed and gave thanks to the God of heaven, who hath 
mercy on whom he will have mercy. 'J'hanks to liis 
name that lie has brought ouj^dear son to the arms of the 
Saviour, and rescued him from the wrath to come. Oh, 
blessed be the Lord God of Abraham, and let all flesh 
bless his holy name. You can but know that you are 
greatly beloved by all tlie family, and no one could dif- 
fuse more happiness among us. Your mother wishes to 
fill the remainder. 

As ever, your afl'ectionate father, 

DANIEL LOVEJOY. 

My dear Son, 

I wrote you in answer to yours of January 
2'2d, giving you an account of our health and circum- 
stances. 1 cannot say that the contents of your last let- 
ter were more than 1 expected ; for I did really believe 



4G MEMOIR OF THE REV. E. P. LOVEJOV. 

that God had given you a broken and contrite heart ; 
and that is where the Holy Spirit delights to dwell. 
Neither can I say it is more than I have asked. It is 
just what I have prayed for, as 1 have thought, with all 
my heart. But 1 can say it is more than I deserved. 
But God is a sovereign ; He does not deal with us ac- 
cording to our deserts, nor reward us according to our 
iniquities. For as far as the heavens are above the earth, 
so far are his thoughts above our thoughts. 

The death of your dear brother Daniel, was a dark 
and mysterious providence. It almost overwhelmed me 
with gloom and despondency ; and I thought it could 
never be explained to me, till I arrived at the heavenly 
world. But I think I can now see why it must be so. 
I was not sufficiently humble, nor prepared to receive the 
blessings, which God had in store for me. Oh, that the 
blessed God would keep me at his feet in the very dust 
before Him. I never had so clear a view of the evil na- 
ture of sin, and of the glorious plan of salvation by Jesus 
Christ, as I have had since ihe death of my dear child. 
God has made me feel that it is an evil and bitter thing 
to sin against Him — that his ways are equal. And now 
my dear child, I hope you will follow on to know the 
Lord, that you may find your going forth prepared as the 
morning — that His spirit may come unto you as the rain, 
as the latter and the former rain unto the earth. 
So prays your rejoicing, 

AlVcctionate, mother. 

ELIZABETH LOVEJOY. 



CHAPTER V. 



The following letters were written soon after arriving 
at Princeton. 

Theological Seminary, Princeton, N. J., April 2d, 1832. 

JMv DEAR AND HONOURED PaRENTS, 

'J'hrough the great and most undeserved good- 
ness of God unto me, I arrived here on the 24th ult. in 
good health, and on the same day was admitted as a mem- 
her of this institution. And so I am here preparing to 
become a minister of the everlasting gospel ! When I 
review my past life, I am astonished and confounded, 
and hardly know which most to wonder at, my own stu- 
pidity, and blindness, and guilt, or the long-sufiering and 
compassion of God. That He should have blessed me 
with such opportunities of becoming acquainted with His 
holy word — should have given me parents who, in the 
arms of their faith, dedicated me to Him, according to 
His gracious covenant, and who early, and constantly, 
and faithfully, and with many tears, warned and entreated 
me to embrace the oflers of salvation, through Jesus 
Christ; and notwithstanding all this, when He saw me 
hardening my heart, resisting the prayers of my parents 
and friends, grieving His holy spirit, and counting the 
blood of the covenant into which 1 had been baptized an 
unholy thing, that He should have still borne with me, 
should have suffered me to live, and at last given me 
reason to hope that I have by his grace been enabled to 



48 MEMOIR OF THE 

return to my Father's house, all this seems to me a mira- 
cle of goodness, such as a CJod alone could perform, and 
far too wonderful for me to comprehend. I can only- 
bow down my head and adore. How often do I ask 
myself, why have I been thus favored ? why was I made 
to hear the invitation of the Blessed Spirit ? " Return unto 
the Lord, and he will have mercy on you." Oh, here is 
love and wisdom united in a degree beyond our highest 
conceptions. I think I said in my last, that no part of 
the revealed will of God appeared more precious to me, 
than that which reveals to man the gracious covenant 
which Jesus Christ made with Abraham, and to fulfd the 
stipulations of which on His part, in process of time he 
came into the world, expiated our sins in his own body 
on the tree. The more I reflect upon the subject, the 
more reason do 1 see for thankfulness and gratitude to 
God, for his condescension in entering into such a cove- 
nant, and for his sovereign mercy in giving me parents 
who acknowledjred its oblirjations, and in the arms of 
faith brought me before His altar, and consecrated me to 
God. I think I can see plainly that the Holy Spirit has 
made this a means of keeping the truth before my mind 
when to every thing else I was insensible. Oh, my dear 
parents, join with me in adoring and magnifying the name 
of the Lord God of our salvation. 

Your afiVnionate son, 

ELIJAH P. LOVEJOY. 

T/ieolngical Seminary, Princeton, N. J., April 2ith, 1832. 

Mv DEAR SISTER SlBVL, 

Your letter gave mo l)()th j)leasure and j)ain. I 
was very glad to hear from you, directly, to see your 
hand-writing, hut it grieved me much to hear of the state 
of our dear father's health. It is the more distressing to 



RKV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 49 

me, that it is altogether unexpected. I had thought that 
he had, at last, succeeded in banishing from his mind 
those fits of morbid melancholy which so entirely unman 
whomsoever they take possession of. Too well, do I 
know, by experience, that there is no remedy for a state 
of mind like this ; none, at least, to be found on earth — 
neither my staying away or coming home, will have the 
least effect. But there is One who can minister to a 
mind diseased — One in whose hand are ail the issues of 
life and death. How strange, then, my dear sister, that 
I, who had so often seen and so deeply felt the insuffi- 
ciency of all created help, should so long have neglected 
not only my duty but my highest privilege, of applying to 
that great Physician ! How depraved must be that un- 
derstanding, and how perverted that intellect, which thus 
knows its disease, yet seeks not, nay, refuses to be 
healed. I hope I shall never again be at h loss for a 
source of consolation, let what may betide. I am sure I 
ought not to be, but I have great reason to tremble lest 
Satan and my own wicked heart get the better of me. It 
is no easy matter to fight such enemies as these, but with 
Christ strengthening me, I know I shall come ofl* more 
than conqueror. 

How does our dear mother do ? You say in your let- 
ter, that she enjoys good health. For this, the Lord be 
thanked. She is a wonderful woman. You know this 
already, but you do not know it so well as I do — I have 
never seen her equal, take all her qualities together. So 
pure, 80 disinterestedly benevolent a heart, seldom lodges 
in a house of clay, and ficver, save in the bosom of a mo- 
ther. Great, I doubt not will be her reward in heaven, 
for there is nothing here which can compensate for such 
love. 

1 have written b V to Owen and to John, since I came 
5 



50 MEMOIR OF THE 

here — having had a letter from John, but not from Owen. 
It is of ihem that I think more than of any of the rest of 
the family. I have, sometimes, enjoyed great confidence 
in the mercies and faithfulness of God, in relation to 
their case. If He has had mercy on me, the oldest and 
most guilty sinner of you all, why should I despair, or 
even doubt of his willingness to receive them also. I 
have thus far made it a rule to pray specially for them, 
every night and morning, and, if God will, I intend to 
continue this practice until my prayers shall have been 
answered, or my voice shall have been " lost in death." 
It seems to mc as if they could not remain insensible, 
could I but see them, and tell them how unspeakably pre- 
cious is Christ to the penitent soul. 

Your affectionate brother, 

ELIJAH P. LOVEJOY. 

The latter part of May, and the month of Juno, were 
spent in a visit to his friends in Maine. During this pe- 
riod, our beloved father was suffering under deep mental 
despondency. Allusion has been made to his case in the 
letters which have been inserted. It is again mentioned, 
in others which succeed. One is given also, written, as 
it will show, on another subject. 

Theological Seminary, Priurrton, A'. /., Aug. 21, 1832. 

Mv nr.AR AND HONOURED FaTHRR. 

I have this day received a letter from mother, 
containing news, for which, I tnisl, I do in some measure 
feel thankful to God. I can hardly allow mysolf to cred- 
it it, and yet it is no more thnn I have prayed for, daily, 
since I left home, and no more than I have, in a good 
measure, believrd would take place. 

Mother says your health is '• almost perfectly re-es 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 51 

tablibhed." I have tried to tliank a merciful God for suf- 
fering my heart to be gladdened with such blessed news. 
I am sure that I ara thankful to him, but oh, not as I ought. 
Oh father ! is he not a God that showeth mercy and 
keepeth covenant? Of all sins, it seems to me, that the 
sin of unbelief is the most dishonourinn; to God. What 
abundant reason have we, as a family, to praise and 
adore the riches of sovereign love and mercy ? And 
what reason have all the children, and I, above all the 
rest, to humble ourselves, because, of our hardness of 
heart and blindness of mind, so that all the goodness of 
God could not lead us to repentance ? If I am saved 
well do I know it can only be by sovereign love alone. 

I have reason to bless God, who gave me parents, that 
faithfully instructed me in the knowledge of His holy 
word from my earliest years, who prayed for me, with 
many tears and strong cries unto heaven, and who gave 
me away in covenant to God. All these things are 
blessings too great to be expressed, and to them, under 
God, do I feel that I owe all my hopes of salvation. 

I do not, my dear father, enjoy that lively sense 
of forgiving love, that communion with God, that I 
could wish. Sin has yet dominion over me, and its 
power is terrible. I used to think that when the heart 
was once renewed, it was no longer subject to the temp- 
tations of sin, and that it was as easy then to keep the 
commandments, as it had been to disobey them. But, 
either 1 was mistaken then, or I deceive myself now ; 
for so far from fmding it an easy matter to keep the law, 
I cannot, or at least 1 do not, do it at all. It seems al- 
most impossible to break away from my old habits of sin, 
and one temptation returns upon another, until sometimes 
I give up in despair. My heart appears an inexhaustible 
fountain of sin ; for no sooner is one subdued than an- 



52 MEMOIR OF THE 

Other takes its place, no sooner is one train of evil 
thoughts banished, than another succeeds ; and every 
day, and a hundred times a day, do I think that I am 
growing worse and worse, instead of increasing in holi- 
ness. It is at such times that I am beset with unbelief; 
seeing my sins so great and numerous, I doubt that the 
blood of Christ is sufficient to cleanse me from them. 
And this is the sorest trial of all ; for when this hope 
fails me then all is gone. And thus I live, hoping, 
doubting, fearing, ashamed of myself, and of my own 
tinworthiness, and yet not daring to trust unhesitatingly 
in the merits of Christ. Do write me, my dear father, a 
long letter, and deal faithfully with me. You know the 
trials that await the Christian, and you know me and my 
weak points, and those where Satan will be most likely 
to assault me. Where else can I look for such faithful, 
disinterested counsel, as from a father. 

I spent nearly a week in Bath, at Mr. Ellingwood's. 
He was very kind and friendly ; and, it seemed to me, 
especially interested in your case. He spoke of the 
missionary meeting at Fryeburg, and of the part which 
you took, saying, that your remarks atihe administratioQ 
of the sacrament, were the best he ever heard in his life. 
Your affectionate son, 

ELIJAH P. LOVEJOY. 

Theological Seminary, Princeton, N. /., Sept. \5th. 18.32. 

Mv DEAR AND HONOURED FaTHER. 

Your letter of August '26th, was received with 
emotions such as I cannot, and 1 need not attempt to de- 
scribe. I think I did, in some measure feel thankful to 
the Disposer of events ; but, oh, not as I ought. How 
strange that ingratitude and distrust, and cold affections 
should ever find place in the hearts of Christians ! la 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOT. 



53 



not, my dear father, the sin of unbelief one of the most 
heinous of all sins ? 

I have never, since I have been old enough to think and 
judge of such things, doubted that my father was a 
Christian, and although all my notions on this subject 
have been wretchedly crude, yet I could always under- 
stand the declaration of the Saviour,—" All that my Fa- 
ther hath given unto me, I will keep ;" and have, there- 
fore, ever supposed that my father's case illustrated the 
truth of the declaration,—" Whom the Lord loveth he 
chasteneth." 

Do you not recollect father, when I was at home, that 
I quoted to you the words of Manoah's wife, (my father, 
as well as Manoah, knows what a blessing it is to have 
a wife who can cheer and animate his drooping faith,) 
that " If the Lord were pleased to kill us, he would not 
have showed us all these things." It seems to me, if 
there be a family in the world who ought to adopt these 
words, it is ours. Sure I am, that it is not seemingly 
possible, that any individual can do more to provoke the 
Holy Spirit to leave him to his destruction, than I have 
done. I cannot conceive of a person more likely to resist 
all heavenly influences, than I was, when, as I trust, I 
was found by a compassionate Saviour and constrained 
to come in. Grace, sovereign grace, nothing else, / am. 
surcy could ever have rescued me. 

And now, my dear father, I have to say, that under 
God, I feel myself indebted for my hopes to the faithful-^ 
ncssarui the prayers of nuj parents. Never can I enough 
acknowledge my obligations to them, for dedicatmg me 
to God in the blessed covenant, for their religious in- 
structions so faithfully repeated, and for that example of 
Christian conversation which I witnessed for more than 
twenty years. I am sure, that when you saw your chQ- 
5* 



54 MEMOIR OF THE 

(Iren growing up around you, and no appearance of any 
effects of your long-continued labours, your faith must 
have been severely tried. I was about to say, that I do not 
see how you could thus have persevered ; but, I will not 
say so, because, you had a covenant keeping God, in 
whom to trust. What an unspeakably precious thing is 
the covenant made with " x\braham and his seed." I 
cannot, and I will not doubt that my dear brothers Owen 
and John will yet be given to the prayer of their parents. 
All in the Lord's own lime. 

The r2th of the month, I endeavoured to observe as a 
day of thanksgiving to Almighty God ; and through his 
grace, I was enabled to feel a good degree of thankful- 
ness and some humility. It was a precious thought that 
I was joining with my parents, and brothers and sisters 
in the delightful work of prayer and praise. The 30th, 
103d, and 104th Psalms I read and meditated upon with 
a great deal of delight. 

You remember, father, that I told you I should expect 
to see you here next spring ; Sibyl's letter, just received, 
tells me you contemplate, the Lord willing, to take the 
trip then. Come here, and I will introduce you to one 
of .the best men in the world, — Dr. Alexander. He has 
few equals that I have ever seen. Do write me a long 
letter. Give me the advice, the counsel I need so much. 
May the Lord God Almighty bless you, my dear father, 
and reward you a hundred-fold for all your goodness to 
me. 

Mother, — It seems to me there is no need of dear be- 
fore that word, for it includes within itself all of endear- 
ment that we can conceive. I have just left room 
enough to tell you that my health is good, my situation 
agreeable, and as for progress in my studies, you know 
that I should not do justice to either father or mother, 



REV. E. P. LOVEJQY. 55 

if I did not make good progress in them. (This will 
do to tell a mother.) Where is John ? I do not hear 
from him at all. Brother Owen, I suppose, is now at 
home. Tell liim to love the Lord Jesus Christ. 
Your aflectionate son, 

ELIJAH P. LOVEJOY. 

Theological Seminar i/, Princeton, N. /., Fth. \2th, 1833. 
My dear brother Joseph. 

Your letter, filled indeed with tidings of wo, 
was received this morning. To the heart of a parent, 
the loss of a beloved child gives a pang which, I suppose, 
none but a parent can feel. Yet I most sincerely con- 
dole with you on the alfliction which it has pleased God 
to send you. She was a pretty child, and one in whom 
I felt much interest, when at home last summer. Her 
age, too, was precisely that when children are to me 
most interesting, and I doubt not, you found her every 
day twining some new cord of aflection about your 
heart ; but death, alas ! has at once rudely snapped 
them all. Yet let this comfort you, that the hand of the 
Lord has commissioned him to do this tiling, and, if you 
are his, it has been done in mercy. Reflect that if you 
could, at the present moment, take in all the bearings of 
the whole subject, if you could sec what God sees, you 
would plainly discern, that what has been done is best 
both for you and the child ; and instead of shedding tears 
of regret and unavailing grief, you would be pouring forth 
from a full heart and streaming eyes, tears of joy and 
thankfulness. When we have learned to have no will, 
but the will of our heavenly Father, then we shall never 
be disappointed : of this we are sure, because He doeth 
all his will, and none can stay him. Some things we 
can see here, and what we know not now, we shall 



56 MEMOIR OF THE 

know hereafter. " I shall go to him, but he shall 
not return to me," said David, and therefore he arose 
and was comforted. God has been pleased to give 
to little Sarah a short, and comparatively, an easy jour- 
ney through this land of afflictions. How fast her little 
capacities are expanding we cannot tell; but I have little 
doubt, that she is drinking in full measures of happiness 
in the presence of her Saviour, to a degree that we do 
not conceive of. Besides, if rightly improved, this event 
will make you abetter man and a more successful minis- 
ter, than you would otherwise have been. 

My dear sister Sarah. 

You weep for your child, and I would not ask 
you to refrain from weeping ; for nature will assert its 
supremacy in the bosom of a mother. The cords which 
bind a child to a mother's heart are strangely intertwined 
with her being ; and every nerve and every affection vi- 
brates to the blow which tears them asunder. It was 
your first-horn, too. When your eyes first looked upon 
the dear, departed little one, then was opened in your 
heart a new fountain of feeling, sweeter and more deli- 
cious, a thousand times, than you had ever before tasted. 
Alas ! and that fountain must now again be closed. 

True, my dear sister, but do you not know where to 
go for consolation ? There is a fountain whose streams 
are never dry ; and though one source after another of 
earthly happiness may be cut off, yet this never fails. 
And the less we drink from the polluted fountains of 
earth, the sweeter will the waters taste. 

What a beautiful and touching scene is that exhibited 
to us in the Bible, in the case of the Shunamite woman. 
She had left her child lying dead at home, and gone out 
to meet the prophet. When he asked her, " Is it well 



REV. K. P. LOVEJOY. 57 

with the child ?" she answered " It is well." She knew 
that her child was in the hands of the Lord who doeth 
all things well. Now, if your little Sarah were still 
living, and you were convinced that you ought to leave 
her ibr awhile, and entrust it to the care of its father, 
you would leave it with regret, but still entirely satisfied 
that nothing would be left undone to secure its happiness ; 
and this, together with the hope and expectation of 
rejoining it, in a few days or weeks, would make you 
comparatively resigned. Now are you not as willing to 
trust its Heavenly Parent ? The child was his. He 
gave it to you for a short space, and has only taken it 
again. lie is not only more disposed than its earthly 
parent to take good care of the child, but he is infinitely 
more able. Whatever is best for its welfare he certainly 
knows and will certainly do. And however long the se- 
paration may now seem to you, when you rejoin your 
child in heaven, it will appear to have been very short. 
I remember to have read, and greatly admired, a piece of 
poetry on this subject, when a very small boy. It was 
called *' The Gardiner and the Rose Tree," and written 
by a Mr. Pierce, a Baptist minister of England. It be- 
gan : 

" In a sweet spot, which wisdom chose, 
Grew a iinitiue and lovely Roso," «tc. 

I read it in an old magazine, but afterwards saw it in the 
" Memoirs of Mr. Pierce." I think if you will get it, 
you will find it allbrding you much consolation in the 
perusal. The " Memoirs" may be found, I should sup- 
pose, with almost any well-informed Baptist minister, but 
if not, I suspect mother knows the piece by memory, and 
can write it down for you. Or, perhaps, you are already 
acquainted with it. But, my dear sister, the best sourco 



58 



MEMOIR OF THE 



1 



to look for assistance to enable us to bear up under our 
bereavements, is an Almighty Saviour. When he afflicts 
it is for our good, and to prepare us the belter for his 
presence in eternity. When you shall have arrived at 
heaven, you will then find this very stroke under which 
you mourn, was necessary to prepare you for your pre- 
sent enjoyment. Say, then, and say from the heart, " It 
is well with the child," " It is well with the mother." 
Do write to me when your husband next writes ; not in 
the same sheet I do not mean. . May an Almighty Sa- 
viour comfort and console you in this, your day of alflic- 
tion. 

Your affectionate brother, 

ELIJAH P. LOVEJOY. 

Theological Seminari/, Princeton, N. /., Feb. 20, 1833. 
My dear sisters Sibyl and Elizabeth, 

It will, indeed, be a mysterious Providence, if 
Satan is so soon again permitted to triumph over our be- 
loved father ; but we know that, though mysterious, it is 
all done in wisdom. Those that will inherit the kingdom, 
must do it through much tribulation. All these tilings' 
shall work together for good to them that believe. If 
father is to be so severely tried, the rest of heaven will 
be the sweeter. If God now hides his face, his presence 
will appear the more glorious in heaven. And let us all, 
my dear sisters, profit by the visitation of judgment! 
Let us humble ourselves before our Heavenly Father as 
he chastiseth us. How much lighter are his strokes 
than our guilt ! And in the midst of arthctions how many 
blessings does he bestow ! 

For my.^elf, I would record it to the praise and the 
glory of my Redeemer, that for the last month, or more, 
I have been favoured with much of his presence ; his' 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOV. 59 

loving kindness has been most abundant towards me. 
When I think of his surpassing goodness, and of my 
continual ingratitude, I am astonished and confounded. 
Though I find myself every day and every hour grieving 
his spirit and provoking him to anger, yet I find him 
still pursuing me with mercies. When I have provoked 
him to hide his face from me, as soon as I humble myself 
before him, he smiles and forgives. Oh, what a Sa- 
viour ! And what a vile, ungrateful wretch am I that can 
ever treat him with neglect. 

I hope, my dear sisters, you find yourselves making 
constant advances in a holy life. You have seen but 
little of this world, but you have seen all. It has no good 
to bestow. Delusive, vain, and transitory, it cheats the 
soul that fastens upon it, of real and permanent enjoy- 
ment in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Let us forsake 
it then, ere it forsakes us, and garner up our affections 
where they ^'ill be secure. 

Nor yet do I mean that we should indulge in despon- 
dency. Even this world, if rightly used, can minister hap- 
piness to the mind. It is the "handy work"' of God. It is a 
glorious manifestation of his wisdom and goodness. As 
such, the Christian should view it. It is not his home, 
it was not meant for such ; but, it is a tarrying place, 
where many refreshments abound, until we reach our 
home in the skies. " Rejoice in the Lord always," said 
David ; and why should not the Christian rejoice ? Let 
him keep humble, as it respects himself; but let him tri- 
umph and make his boast in God his Saviour. Cheerful 
and contented let him live in the performance of every 
duty, singing, as he journeys through life, 



" We'll praise thee for thy mercies past 
And humbly hope for more." 



60 MEMOIR OF THE 

The way for the ransomed of the Lord to come to Zion, 
is " with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads." 
Your affectionate brother, 

ELIJAH P. LOVEJOY. 

In April of this year he received license to preach the 
gospel, from the second Presbytery of Philadelphia. 
Some months of the summer were passed in preaching 
at Newport, Rhode Island, and as a temporary supply at 
the Spring Street Church, New York. While at the 
latter place, the tidings of the death of his father reached 
him. On that occasion he wrote to the several members 
of the family, as follows, 

Nf.w York, August 19M, 1833. 

Mv DEAR, DEAR MoTHER, 

What shall I say to you ? How shall I at- 
tempt to console you, under the afflicting hand of Provi- 
dence ? — Dear mother, " It is the Lord — let Him do 
what seemeth Him good." Mother, cannot you say so ? 
Even now, when the hand of God is most heavily laid 
upon you, cannot you kiss the hand that smites ? Your 
husband sleeps the sleep of death, but mother, your Re- 
deemer liveth, and has he not said to your dear departed 
husband, and is he not saying to you, " Because I live, 
ye shall live also." For my dear father, I have no doubt 
that it is well with him. He was a Christian — his 
whole life, but especially the last ten years of his life, 
evinced it. God has dealt mysteriously with him — but 
I doubt not he is now singing, a glorified spirit before 
His tlirone. And why, then, should you mourn ? Mo- 
ther, can*t you trust CJod ? Blessed be His name, that 
you have long since learned to trust Him, and He has 
never disappointed you. He has been your Friend, 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 61 

and now He will enter into a still more endearing rela- 
tion towards you. Thy Maker shall be thy Husband. 

Had God taken your husband from you, without leav- 
ing you any hope of his future blessedness, how much 
more cause for grief would you have had then, than now. 
And so I might find ten thousand reasons why you should 
not mourn the exit of your husband ; but these and such 
like, would rather convince the judgment, than affect the 
heart. After all, the gospel, the gospel of the Son of 
God, with all its glorious hopes, its rich promises, and 
its bright anticipations, can alone minister true consola- 
tion under circumstances such as yours. To these con- 
solations, my dear mother, you are no stranger. He has 
delivered thee in six troubles, and now, in this seventh 
and greatest, he will not forsake thee. 

And, mother, the time is short. You will soon join 
your husband in Heaven — your three sons you will 
meet there too. It may be that more of your children 
may precede you — and it matters not — so that they are 
prepared to go, the sooner God takes them from an evil 
world, the better for them. But for you, dear mother, I 
cannot doubt that a bright crown awaits you, when you 
shall enter the gates of the New Jerusalem. And in the 
midst of your bereavements, let it console you, that you 
have faithfully performed the part of a wife and a mo- 
ther. How often have I heard my dear father say, 
*' Never had a man such a wife as I have ;" and I am 
sure all your children will unite with me, in saying, never 
had children a better mother. From my heart do I feel 
this ; and now I have to say, that I hold myself bound to 
devote my life to minister to tlie comfort of my dear, dear 
widowed mother. I shall write to Joseph more particu- 
larly on this subject. May God comfort you, my mo- 
ther, may His grace console you in your afiliclions, and 
G 



62 MEMOIR OF THE 

may He a thousand-fold compensate your loss in the 
more abundant enjoynieni of Himself. 

Your most atlectionate son, 

ELIJAH P. LOVEJOY. 



New York, August \9th, 1833. 

My dear sisters Sibyl and Elizabeth, and my dear 
BROTHER John. 

Dear Sisters and Brother, 

We are orphans. God has taken from us, and, 
I doubt not, to himself, our dear and honoured father. 
After a life of many vicissitudes, and much and varied 
sufTering, he has laid down to rest in the tomb. It is a 
heavy stroke to us all — but to him, as we hope and be- 
lieve, the end of all his sorrows, and all his pains. A 
sweet release from care and disquietude, and an intro- 
duction to mansions of blessedness. Why, then, should 
we mourn ? Rather let us give God thanks that He so 
long continued to us the example and the prayers of 
such a father. To you, my dear sisters, I can speak of 
the consolations and the promises of the gospel, under 
our present alllictions. I can bid you listen to the voice 
of the compassionate Saviour, as he says, " Mourners, 
dry your tears. It is I, be not afraid. What I have done 
is all for your good. Though you see it not now, yet 
you shall hereafter." If our faith, my dear sisters, is of 
the right kind, we shall not only know that for this very 
dispensation of God's providence, we shall hereafter 
praise him, but we shall begin our song of assured grati- 
tude even now. We shall not only yield a cold assent 
to tht; words of David, but we shall adopt them from the 
heart, " Before I was afflicted, I went astray, but now 
I learn to keep thy law — it is good for me to be afllicled.* 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOy, 63 

A letter from brother Joseph informed me of the sad 
breach made in the family, and also that my two dear 
sisters are much affected by it. My dear sisters, I sym- 
pathize with you, in all your griefs ; I, too, have lost a 
father — a dear, an honoured father ; one to whom I am 
indebted more than I shall ever know, till I stand with 
him at the judgment seat of Christ. His prayers, his 
faithful warnings and reproofs we have together shared, 
and together are we deprived of tlicm. But it is wrong 
to mourn excessively. And I would not, if I could, this 
day, recall our dear departed father. No ; let him sleep 
in peace, in the tomb where his Saviour laid before him ; 
a tomb, in whose dark vault the lamp of Christian hope 
shines brightly. There let him sleep — the servant of 
God who has finished his work — until the God whom, in 
his life he served, shall come to waken him, and call him 
to the skies. Weep not then, my sisters, weep not, for 
it is well with our father. Blessed be God, we can say 
and believe, it is well. 

For you, my dear brother John, you would not hear 
our father while living, will you not hear him, as he 
speaks from the grave, " My son, give God thine heart." 
Oh, my dear brother, live no longer without an interest 
in Christ, for fear that the separation which has now 
taken place between you and your father, shall be eter- 
nal. You will no longer share in his prayers — the last 
prayer of your father for your soul has gone up to heaven, 
and yet you are not converted. My brother, I tremble 
for the fate of your immortal soul. Oh, hear the voice 
of our dear father, as it cries to you from the ground, 
*' Behold, 710U' is the accepted time, behold, now is the 
day of salvation." If I have not forgotten, you may read 
these words on the tomb stone of our dear grandfather. 
He was buried the day you were a year old. There lie 



64 MEMOIR OF THE 

father, son, and how soon another grandson, even you, 
my brother, may sleep by their side, God only knows. 
Be ready, I entreat you. 

I commend you, my dear sisters and brother, to God, 
and to his grace, who can do for you all that you need 
in your present afflictions. Write to me, all of you, as 
soon as you receive this. 

Your affectionate brother, 

ELIJAH P. LOVEJOY. 

New York, August 26th, 1833. 

My DEAr BROTHER OwEX, 

I had intended to write you sooner, but circum- 
stances have prevented. Nor do I now know where to 
direct my letter, but shall, at a venture, send it to China. 

It was indeed, my dear brother, sad news that awaited 
you on your return home. How little did we anticipate 
such an event when we parted. The ways of Provi- 
dence are, truly, most inscrutable, but they are, neverthe- 
less, all wrought in infinite wisdom. It is well, my dear 
brother, for God doeth all things well. And what we 
know not now, we shall know hereafter. 

The day is soon coming, when we shall stand, along 
with our dear, departed father, at the judgment seat of 
Christ ; and then shall we learn ir/iy we have been thus 
dealt with, in this afflictive dispensation of Providence. 

But my dear brother, there is one improvement we 
ought to make of it, that must appear obvious to us all. 
And that is, to consider it as a loud call to each one of 
us, to be ready. Our work must be finished — our souls 
must be saved — since the night soon cometh when no 
man can work. Our dear father has finished his, and 
gone to his rest. One brother — nay three, and one of 
them by the name of Owen — wont before him ; and now, 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 65 

brother, can you tell when you and I shall be called to 
follow him ? 

My dear brother, permit me most earnestly and affec- 
tionately, to exhort you to give good heed to the warn- 
ing voice, which now calls to you from your father's 
grave. Hear it saying to you, " My prayers, which have 
been constantly ascending for you since you was born, 
are now forever ceased — I cannot any more advise, in- 
struct, exhort, or warn you, to flee from the wrath to 
come — I gave you to God, in covenant, accordmfr to his 
commands ; these vows, and these obligations I have left 
resting upon your head. My cares, my watchings, and 
my labours for your soul's salvation, are now ended, and 
while I go to the bar of God to render up my account, I 
leave you unconverted." Oh, my brother, though our 
dear father's life failed to convert you, shall not his death 
accomplish it ? Will you not hear him now, though you 
have hitherto neglected to hear him ? Could I now be 
■with you, my brother, I would take you to the tomb of 
our father, and there kneeling on the green sod that 
covers his dear remains, I would entreat you to make 
haste and be at peace with God, through faith and re- 
pentance, and a belief in the Lord Jesus Christ. Faith 
in him, can look beyond the tomb, can pierce the dark- 
ness that rests upon the grave, and behold the soul, dart- 
ing upward, with the speed of light, to the throne of God, 
there to hear its doom, and enter upon its destined abode 
for eternity. Oh, my brother, my brother, prepare to 
meet thy God. 

I greatly long to hear from my dear mother, and my 
sisters. I hope and pray that they have found grace 
equal to their day. Joseph informed me that mother was 
wonderfully supported ; for which I thank God. Grace 
can accomplish any thing. Even out of this most trying 



66 MEMOIR OF THE REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 

affliction to the family, it can create cause for thankful- 
ness to us all, throughout eternity. 

I wish that it was in my power, consistently with 
duty, to come down and see " home" once more, but I 
think the indications of Providence are such as forbid it. 
They are impatiently calling me to the West, and to the j 
West I must go. I have some hopes that Joseph will ^ 
come on here, so that I can see him, before long. I am I 
tolerably well — am doing good, I hope. Give my love 1 
to dear mother and sisters, and to brother John. Finally, \ 
my dear brother, farewell ; and may the grace of our 
Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. I 

Your affectionate brother, 

ELIJAH P. LOVEJOY. \ 



CHAPTER VI. 



As intimated in the close of the letter inserted in the 
last chapter, our brother set his face again to the West. 
He had been requested, and strongly urged, by a circle 
of Christian friends at St. Louis, to return there and be- 
come the editor of a religious, weekly paper. The friends 
of the object at that place furnished a capital of twelve 
hundred dollars for press, type, &c. From the instru- 
ment now before us, executed by the parties, the editor 
was to have the entire control of the establishment, with 
the right to mortgage the same, for the purpose, if neces- 
sary, of enlarging the " materials for printing." If, 
moreover, the nett income of the establishment should 
exceed live hundred dollars a year, the editor was to pay 
the surplus to the proprietors. 

In pursuance of this arrangement, on the 22nd of No- 
vember, 1833, the first number of the " St. Louis Obser- 
ver" was issued. 

The first editorial article is here inserted. 

St. Louis, Nov. 22d, 1833. 
" The first number of the Observer appears to day. 
We send it forth with our most cordial greetings to all 
its expecting friends, and with the hope that it will suc- 
ceed in obtaining the good will of all before whom it 
may appear. It comes with no sinister motive, it ap- 
peals to no bad passion ; and it asks a welcome in every 
home that in a spirit of meekness it may plead the 
cause of Ilim who came from heaven to proclaim * peace 



68 MEMOIR OF T}IE \ 

on earth, and good will toward men.' Where it cannot 
be admitted on these terms, it will pass quietly by, nei- 
ther feeling nor expressing aught of unkindness or re- 
proach. And, however often, or with whatever words 
of contumely, it may be rejected from the door of any 
dwelling, it will still be ready to return upon the first ap- 
pearance of more hospitable feelings, on the part of its in- 
mates. For it will ever be ready to practice on the maxim 
it will unceasingly inculcate upon others ; to forgive one 'i 
another as our Heavenly Father has also forgiven us. 

But while the Observer will thus seek to win its way 
to the hearts and consciences of men, by the kindness of i 
the sentiments it breathes, it will not tejnporizc as it goes, i 
Truth is its object — divine truth in all its severity, as well 
as loveliness. To ascertain this, to free it from the gloss- 
es of men, and then press it home to the bosoms of its 
readers, as of practical and infinite importance, will al- 
ways make a part of its weekly labours. It will seek 
no controversy, and it will decline none, when by so do- 
ing it might compromise the purity of that * faith once 
delivered to the saints.' It will hold itself aloof from \ 
all angry discussions which may arise between brethren "^ 
of the same sect, or of different sects, who can yet unite \ 
in glorying in the cross of Christ, other than to counsel t 
peace and forbearance. But though actuated with the ^ 
best feelings towards all, of whatsoever name, wlio love * 
the Lord Jesus Christ, the Observer will, nevertheless, 3 
have a course of its own — a system of religious doc-1 
trines to which it will inflexibly adhere. What that is, 
will soon more plainly appear, in the course of its week- 
ly visits. But we may here say, in brief, that it will be | 
the same as that which Paul preached — the same, in sub- ] 
stance, as that which Luther and Calvin rescued from 
the corruptions of men — the same as Edwards explain- 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 69 

ed and defended — the same as now obtains, in all its dis- 
tinctive features, among the great body of orthodox Chris- 
tians in our land. 

While, therefore, the Observer proffers the most cordi- 
al salutations to, and claims Christian fellowship with, 
all who can adopt the sentiment of its motto, as constitu- 
ting their religion, and the whole of their religion, it will 
studiously avoid giving occasion of offence to any. Peace 
will be its aim, as far as that is consistent with the defence 
of the Truth. Yet it will never shrink from the post of 
duty ; nor fear to speak out lest some over sensitive ears 
should be pained. Opinions honestly entertained will be 
fearless-ly declared ; and but little regard will be felt or 
expressed for any systen of faith or practice, which rests 
mainly for its support upon the traditions of men, or upon 
the equally equivocal authority of long prescription. 

One leading object of the Observer will be to diffuse 
information concerning the religious operations of the day, 
among Christians and other citzens of the West. In the 
Christian world it is a time of movement. The messen- 
ger of the Lord of Hosts has been heard as he passed 
along through the borders of the Church, calling upon her 
to come up to the help of the Lord against the mighty. 
Nor has the call p3ssed unheeded. In all ranks the 
Church is in motion. She is mustering her hosts for the 
conquest, not of this or that petty kingdom or province, 
but of the World. Her heralds precede her, and even 
now they are running to and fro over all the earth, to pro- 
claim the acceptable year of the Lord. Wherever she 
comes it is to set the bondman free, to break the chains 
of the oppressor, and to open the prison doors of the cap- 
tive. She comes to dissipate the glooms of supesstition, 
which have, for so many ages, rested upon the fairest por- 
tions of the globe, to pour in light upon the ' dark places 



70 MEMOIR OF THE 

of the earth which are full of the habitations of cruel- 
ty,' to rescue a lost race from the ruins of the fall, and 
restore it to the favour of its God. In this godlike enter- 
prise the Church is now engaged— for this her prayers are 
ascending — to this her energies are directed, and in this 
she will assuredly triumph. Already her standard floats 
triumphantly over many a strong hold conquered from the 
enemies of her God. On the Isles of the Pacific — on 
the shores of Greenland — on the coasts of China and 
Siam — on the shores of Hither India, and far up into her 
broad interior — on the plains of Africa, the sunny isles 
of Greece, and the snows of Lapland and Caucasus, 
she has planted the Cross of her Redeemer, the sign and 
the instrument of salvation to the sin stricken nations. 
That cross, wherever thus erected, shall never fall. The 
Church is pledged to sustain it ; and in fulfilling that 
pledge, she takes hold of the arm of her omnipotent Sa- 
viour." 

We shall here give large extracts from the successive 
numbers, that the American public, and all the world 
may know, what were the sentiments, and what the man- 
ner in which they were expressed, for which our brother 
was, in the process of time, cruelly persecuted ; and, for 
conscientiously holding fist to which, he was finally mur- 
dered. If, in these sentiments, or in the manner of 
expressing them, there is aught worthy of death, as he 
did not refuse to die, so we will not ask that his name and 
character be saved from reproach, or his memory from 
oblivion. If, on the other hand, these are the truths ou 
which society is based, which God has published to the 
world, ^nd which Christ has sanctioned with his own 
blood ; if there is much of the spirit of him, " who, 
when he was reviled, reviled not again," in the manner 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOV. 71 

in which these truths are expressed ; then we ask you 
not to believe, in some cases his misinformed, and in 
others his malicious slanderers. Still farther, — we ask 
you not to cease calling (or justice, till she return in her 
strength, majesty, and purity, with her robes washed from 
the stains of innocent blood shed at Alton. 



Miscellaneous Editorial Articles from the 
St. Louis Observer. 

WHAT IS TRUTH ? 

" It is strange that what, more than all things else, it 
concerns mankind to know, what was expressly design- 
ed for their benefit, and what by their all wise Creator 
they were expressly fitted to receive, should yet be the 
very thing with which they are the least acquainted. 
Truth, though professedly the object of search to all, 
is confessedly apprehended by but few. And even these 
do but catch distant and uncertain views of its light ; as 
when a star is seen through the fitful changes of tlie 
intervening cloud. Even as they behold they tremble 
lest it shall vanish from their sight, and be lost in the 
gathering gloom. 

The reason of this must be, either th:it we have not 
the faculties for perceiving truth, or that having, we have 
perverted them. The first, as it would be a reflection 
upon either the goodness or wisdom of God or both, 
cannot for a moment be admitted, and there remains the 
only alternative, that we have carelessly or willfully gone 
wrong in our search for the truth. And this is just the 
ground on which the Bible places it, * Seeing, men see 
not, and hearing thev do not understand.' 



72 MEMOIR OF THE 

Sometimes we make up for ourselves a system of me- 
taphysics — Nve arrange to our taste or our caprice, the 
faculties of the mind, and the modes of its action, and 
whatever of divine truth does not suit our scheme — 
which, as it has cost much labour of thought, is, of course, 
a cherished bantling — we reject, or at best, those sharp 
points, that interfere with the organized movements of 
our moral machinery, we carefully cover up. We have 
been silting at the feet of Berkeley or Locke or Hume, 
and thencs we bring our standard, by which to measure 
the doctrines of the Cross, and the revealed will of God. 
How often has Plato gotten into the sacred desk and 
crowded out Paul, or at most, permitted the Apostle a 
word of exhortation after the Metaphysician had sermon- 
ized liis full hour. — Which exhortation, indeed, was 
about as consonant to the sermon, as the new piece of 
cloth sewed upon the ragged garment — in both cases the 
whole was made a piece of parli-colored patch-work. 

Sometimes, having been educated in great reverence 
for the names and opinions of certain men, and an ab- 
horrence for those of others ; at every step we take in 
our search for truth, we tremble lest we shall have part- 
ed company from those we love and reverence, and have 
entered upon the premises of those we both fear and dis- 
liko. When in such a mood, it is wonderful what a magic 
there is in the mere sound of a name. To be told that 
if we go on, we shall soon cease to have a right to be 
distinguished by this or that appellation, will bring us 
to a halt at once. Then it is, too, that we apply the 
same concis*! and conclusive argument to others. You 
are a ' Calvinist,' an ' Arminian,' or a ' Pelagian,' as the 
case may be ; and those whom such an argument fails to 
convince, ar»' indeed incorrigible — we give them over to 
blindness of mind. 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 73 

Sometimes — and it is ilie last case we shall put — we 
are so tremblingly alive lest others may fall into error 
that we have no time to search out the truth for ourselves. 
We get up on the watch tower, and spend the whole day 
in casting our nervous, feverish glance around, in the 
eager expectation of seeing some one, whom we may 
warn of his fate, about to fall into the hands of the enemy ; 
and, of course, have no time to examine whether they 
may not be nearer us than them, and even undermining 
the very pillars on which we stand. At such a time we 
are almost sure to sec multiplied danger, either real or 
apparent. Either our wishes become the father to our 
thoughts, or as in the natural, so in the moral, our eye 
sight is strained till we see double ; mole hills swelling 
into mountains, and men looking like trees walking, 

* Till Birnain forest come to Dunsinane.' 

Or, at best, as we are a voluntary watcher, even though 
we succeed in descrying no approaching evil, we shall 
still have a strong temptation to lift up our voices and cry 
aloud, lest those within the walls suspect us of sleeping 
at our post, or as wanting in alacrity and zeal. 

Such is but a specimen of the difficulties that attend 
us in our search after truth. But, for these and all others 
we know of but one and the same remedy — a determi- 
nation to think independently, untrammelled, by the dog- 
mas of Philosophy or the logic of the Schools, and then 
an humble, diligent, prayerful perusal of the Word of 

God." 

7 



74 MEMOIR OF THE 



THE PAST YEAR. 

January 2d, 1834. 

" Another year has gone. Another of those periods, 
thirty of which mark the duration of a generation of 
mankind, has passed, bearing with it into eternity and 
to the bar of God, 30,000,000 of the human family. 
Could we read the private history of these thirty mil- 
lions just removed to be here no more forever, what 
an instructive lesson would it teach. Some just open- 
ed their eyes upon the light, and then closed them 
forever. Some had just learned to return the maternal 
embrace, and to look, in their playful moods, into the 
mother's beaming eyes for approval, when Death came 
and took them to the grave. Others, for the first time, 
had gone out info the world, and with all the emo- 
tions that unbounded surprise and delight can give, were 
gazing upon the scene before them. There Hope was 
weaving her gayest tissues, and hanging garlands of joy 
on every object ; there Beauty wore her brightest robes, 
and as she moved in conscious pride, turned often to be- 
stow her sweetest smiles upon Love that followed in her 
train. Alas I 'twas but a dream, and even as he stands, 
the film is gathering upon his eye, that will shut the 
scene from his sight forever. In the greenness of his 
years and the first freshness of his hopes he fell, and 
these scenes of delight are exchanged for a vision of the 
charnel house and the tomb ! 

And even the man of middle age, whose hopes had 
been sobered and his anticipations chastened by unnum- 
bered disappointments, even his path to the grave was 
strewed with the wrecks of nriny a cherished scheme of 
self-aggrandizement, which yet he had fondly thought 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 75 

would have secured to him the end of his toil. On yon- 
der hill he sleeps, buried beneath the ruins of the tem- 
ple he had erected to Pride, to Avarice, or to Vanity. 
And yet his posterity approve his sayings and are walk- 
ing in his footsteps. 

He, too, whom the weight of years had bowed to the 
earth, whose strength had so far departed that the bur- 
den of life could scarcely be supported, he was surprised 
in the midst of plans that looked for their accomplish- 
ment far into the future. Though the wheel had long 
moved slowly at the cistern, he had not thought it would 
stop so soon. 

Yet not .such is the history of all whom the year 
through which we have just passed, has removed from 
this world. Some there were who had long waited to 
be gone, knowing that for them to live was Christ, but to 
die was gain. To some the year has brought a blessed 
relief from long continued sickness, from poverty, from 
unmerited obloquy, from oppression, and especially from 
their warfare with sin — the garb of poverty has been 
exchanged for garments of light, the ' world's dread 
laugh, ' for the approving smile of their Redeemer, aiid 
the darkness and doubt of earth for the full tide of 
light and truth that flows from the Throne of God and 
of the Lamb. For them Death had no terrors, the grave 
DO gloom. They entered its gates with smiling counte- 
nances, and as they laid themselves down in Death's em- 
brace sang with assured joy the triumphant song, * O 
doatli, where is thy sting, O grave, where is thy vic- 
tory I' There let them rest. Their tomb is not dark ! 
No ; Like the Vestals of old, Faith has lit her lamp 
from heaven, and gone down to waich over their sleep- 
ing dust. Her light irradiates even the darkness of the 
tomb. Nor will she leave her post till He who once 



76 MLMOIR OF THE 

slept in the grave shall come to waken them from their 
repose and take them to that heaven whither he has as- 
cended. They died the death of the righteous, and they 
will rise to the resurrection of the just. 

Such is the lesson which the last year afTords, and 
which we, who have lived through it, are permitted to 
read. It is a lesson full of instruction and practical wis- 
dom. And how sad the reflection that few, comparative- 
ly, will profit by it — that, as in the past, so in the com- 
ing year, the multitude will still continue to pervert the 
right ways of the Lord, till, tired with the pursuits of 
shadows, the year now begun shall witness many of 
them end witiiout hope, a life employed to no pur- 
pose. 

Let us all, then, who would avoid a catastrophe so de- 
plorable, adopt the prayer which the pious man of old ad- 
dressed to his Maker : ' So teach us to number our 
days that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.' " 



FAITH. 

" How beautiful and how striking the expression, of the 
apostle, ' We walk by faith.' He is writing to the Corin- 
thian Christians, ami in order that he may persuade them 
not to be cast down in the midst of their trials and 
afflictions, he directs their attention to their ' house not 
made with hands eternal in the heavens.' 'Therefore,' 
he adds, ' We are always confident, knowing that whilst 
we are at home (or more properly, sojourning) in tho 
body, we arc absent from the Lord: for we walk by 
faith, not by sight.' This last clause is added as the 
reason of the confidence which the apostle professed — 
he walked by faith. 

Had he, on tlie contrary, walked by sight — had he 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 77 

judged the Lord ' by feeble sense,' and regulated his 
conduct according to the maxims of worldly wisdom, how 
dilferent would have been his course, and how dilferent 
the result. lie would have escaped ' persecutions,' the 
'cruel scourgings and mockings,' the 'perils' by land 
and sea which he so frequently endured ; he would have 
trimmed his sails to catch the popular breeze, and with 
his talents, his acquirements, and the advantages of his 
introduction into society, he would doubtless have lived 
admired and courted by the wise and the learned of the 
age — the Jewish scribe and the Greek philosopher. 
But what would the end have been ? He miglit have 
died with the uncertain and unreasonable composure of 
a Socrates, with the brutal heroism of a Cato, or the 
mountebank vanity of an Augustus ; but we should never 
have heard the triumphant exclamation of a soul longing 
'to depart and be with Christ.' 'O death, where is 
thy sling ? O grave, where is thy victory V Like Ha- 
drian or Hume, he might have uttered fool-hardy jests at 
the approach of death ; but there would have been no 
record in heaven or on earth of a man, who, after a life 
of unparalleled exertion and unequalled suffering, went in 
calm serenity to the block, uttering the memorable 
words — ' I have fought a good fight, I have finished my 
course, I have kept the faith ; henceforth there is laid 
up in heaven for me a crown of righteousness, which the 
Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me at that day : and 
not to me only, but unto all them also that love his ap- 
pearing.' 

In view of such an <'xit from the world as this, who 
docs not exclaim, ' Let me die the death of the righteous, 
and let my last end be like his V — ' We walk by faith.' 
Thus did Paul. In the midst of a wicked and perverse 
generation, in the midst of temptations and trials ; with 
T 



78 MEMOIR OF THE 

every thing that could tempt or allure him to turn aside, 
he ' walked by faith.' By faith he traced the footsteps 
of his ascended Lord and followed them with undeviating 
course. By faith he looked beyond the heavens and 
there beheld 'Jesus the Forerunner' entered into rest 
and waiting to welcome all his faithful followers- Upon 
this object as upon the guiding and illuminating star of 
his path through earth's wilderness, he fixed his stead- 
fast eye ' looking unto Jesus the Author and Finisher of 
his faith.' It was this confidence in things unseen that 
enabled him to endure unto the end. And how much 
more good might Christians effect, how many more tri- 
umphs over the world, the flesh and the Devil might they 
achieve, would they cultivate more the grace of faith in 
their hearts. Not a dead faith, a faith speculatively cor- 
rect, empty, vain, inoperative ; but that true and living 
faith which loorks by love, and so purifies the heart, and 
by purifying the heart informs the head, and thus leads 
to holy, beneficial and well-sustained action. 

When, oh ! when will Christians learn to ' walk by 
faith' — to live confessing themselves ' strangers and 
pilgrims here' — by the exercise of faith to forsake the 
world and its vanities, and daily and hourly go up and 
hold sweet converse with saints and angels in light, who 
dwell in those heavenly mansions which are soon to be 
their own eternal home ?" 



CONVERSION OF THE WORLD. 

" We said last week that this was the most glorious en- 
terprise in which human beings had ever been engaged. 
It is so, 

1. Because of the extent of the enterprise. Too often 
it is the case that the schemes of man, even when de- 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 79 

signed for good, are limited in their operation, either 
from some defect in the plan, or, what indeed is pretty- 
nearly the same thing, want of enlarged views of duty in 
the designer. Thus, most or all of the benevolent eflbrts 
of the human mind have been confined to one's own kin- 
dred, or neighbourhood, or city, or at most his country. 
But in carrying on the work of missions, the Church 
soars at once far above the inlluence of all such feelings. 
Attached as the Christian is, and as he ought to be, to 
his own countrymen, and his kindred according to the 
flesh ; in this work he moves in a far higher sphere of 
action. All men are his brethren, in each he sees a soul 
for which Christ died ; and looking to the immortal des- 
tinies of that soul, all earthly distinctions vanish. Here 
is neither rich nor poor, nor bond nor free, nor black nor 
white, but all are one in his view. When the Church 
commissions her missionary, it is in the words of her 
great Head, ' Go ye into all the world and preach the 
gospel to every creature.' And with his life in his hand, 
and the unextinguishable love of souls in his heart, he 
goes. He pierces the gloomy forests of America, he 
treads the burning sands of Africa; his voice is heard on 
the mountains of Asia, and among the isles of the sea ; 
the eternal snows of Iceland, and the burning heat of 
the line cannot deter him ; he will not rest until to every 
kindred, and tribe, and people, under the whole earth he 
preaches a crucified Redeemer. So also at home ; in all 
plans that are laid, and all the deliberations that are held, 
this is the end kept in view, the regeneration of every 
son and daughter of Adam. Alexander, and Caesar, and 
Napoleon, conquered provinces and kingdoms ; but the 
soldier of the Cross is engaged in conquering the whole 

WORLD. 

2. The enterprise of converting the world is grand, 



80 MEMOIR or THE 

becanse of the simplicity of the means employed. There 
is no mysterious, complex system of operations, constantly 
varying in its application, with which the church pro- 
poses to carry on this work. All is simple, sublime, elH- 
cacious. The doctrine of the Cross, ' Jesus Christ and 
him crucified,' is the only weapon she has, the oidy one 
she needs. With this she assaults the strong holds of 
infidelity, strikes down the pride of human learning, and 
humbles the conceit of vain philosophy ; with this she 
enters the cottage of the poor, and the palace of the 
king, in spite of all that ignorance or sensuality can 
oppose to her progress ; by this she makes her way 
through the prisons of superstition, and cruelty, and 
bigotry, setting free the captives and giving liberty to 
them that are bound. 

3. In the dignity of the actors is seen the grandeur of 
the enterprise. For though apparently it is achieved by 
weak and erring man, yet in reality it is not so. To 
commence the work the Son of God came down to earth 
and died; to carry it on the Spirit of God is ever em- 
ployed with its omnipotent energies, while God the Fa- 
ther directs the operations of his earthly providences to 
the «ame great end. The seat of influence lies not on 
earth, but in heaven. Thence come down supplies of 
grace and wisdom and strength for those engaged in this 
holy war ; there was the plan conceived, the scheme de- 
vised, and there will its operations terminate. For, 

4. The glory of this enterprise is seen in its grand re- 
sults. And these are none other than to qualify men for 
heaven, and then carry them up thither. It proposes to 
elevate the whole human race to their origin:il dignity, 
and thus riiialify them for a seat at the right hand of God. 
Fallen and degraded as man now is, who but a God could 
have conceived such a plan, and who but a God could 



REV. E. r. LOVEJOY. 81 

execute it ? The work indeed is the Lord's, but the church 
is the instrument by which he executes it. And it is 
hastening, too, to its ternnination. A thousand signs in- 
dicate this. 

Let the infidel scofT, let the bigot rave, let the multitude 
deride and contemn ; but who that loves the Lord Jesus 
Christ, at such a time as this, will stand idly by, and will 
not rather take up his cross and march to the van. 
Cheered on by so many tokens of victory, upheld by the 
promises of an Almighty Redeemer, and looking forward 
to a crown that already glitters in his view, before whose 
brightness the stars of heaven are dim — where is the 
Christian who does not pant for action, or who fears what 
man can do unto him ? 

Now is the time, oh ! Christian — Gird up your loins and 
go forth — Go as David went, in the name of the Lord of 
Hosts, and as surely as he triumphed so will you. And 
as surely as your Redeemer liveih, so surely will he 
with his own hands place the crown of victory upon 
your head." 



EUROPE. 

March 21th, 1834. 
"The moral and political aspect of this quarter of the 
globe is, at the present time, peculiarly interesting. Though 
the smallest of the four grand divisions of the globe, it is, 
and for centuries has been, by far the most important. 
The history of civilization, the annals of literature, the 
record of important discoveries, the histories of the tri- 
umphs of Art and Science, over ignorance and barbarism, 
seldom extend beyond this favoured portion of the globe. 
Strike from the annals of the human race the records of 



82 MEMOIR OF THE 

European mind, and the achievmenls of European intel- 
lect, and History — all at least that has come down to 
us — will be little else than the annals of barbarism. The 
only exception to this remark is presented by our own 
country ; whose influence is indeed pervadingly manifest 
throughout the civilized world. Yet its existence is so 
recent, that in calculating the elements of the world's 
past history, it scarcely deserves to be taken into the 
account. 

Eight hundred years ago, the darkness of midnight 
rested on Europe. Its inhabitants were slaves in the 
broadest sense of that term. Every thing seemed com- 
bined to rivet the chains upon the bodies and souls of 
men. The feudal system every where prevailed accord- 
ing to the tenor of which the cultivators of the soil, were 
parcelled out the properly of petty chiefs, as much as if 
they had been mere fixtures on the land ; these snialler 
chiefs were bound in fealty to nobles and barons of more 
extended sway, who again did homage to their sovereign 
King or Emperor, which 

• Emperor, King, and Prince, and Peer,' 

were alike ignominiously chained to the footstool of the 
Pope, whom, to the fullest extent of passive obedience 
they acknowledged as Lord of life and death, both in this 
and the other world. 

It is not in language to paint, nay it is not in imagina- 
tion adequately to conceive, the picture of the moral, po- 
litical, and social desolation which Europe at this time 
presented. Over its whole extent the eye looks in vaia 
for one spot of verdure, on which for a moinerit it may 
rest. All is blackness and ruin, varied only by the dif- 
ferent features of rnpuUiveness and horror. 

High on the throne of universal dominion which they 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 83 

had audaciously usurped, sat the Popes surrounded by a 
priesthood, venal, ignorant, and debauched in a degree 
almost exceeding belief; themselves distinguished from 
their 'spiritual vassals, only by that pre-eminence in all 
manner of wickedness which their power enabled them 
to conunit ; issuing their arrogant and impious decrees 
wliich were ' to bind kings with chains,' and ' nobles 
witli fetters of iron.' Monks, friars, and nuns, mendi- 
cants without name and without degree, filled the mon- 
asteries and nunneries that every where abounded, with 
riots and debaucheries that cannot be described, or 
swarmed over the land, like the lice of Eg>'pt, eating up 
all its fair fruits, and inspiring loathing and abhorrence by 
their pestilential presence. From the Pope to the sov- 
ereign, the noble, and thus down to the peasant and the 
serf. Superstition extended her Sybaritic and brutalizing 
influences. Beneath her benumbing grasp the palsied 
wretch sank down unnerved, unmanned ; and worship- 
ped as his gods and revered as his Saviour, images of 
wood and stone, which his own hands did, or might 
make ; or treasured in his bosom as the ' pearl of great 
price,' relics of ' every name and hue,' a lock of hair, a 
piece of dried skin, a thumb or a toe nail, palmed upon 
him by hungry and mendicant piety, were venerated as 
the means and the pledge of salvation. And — horrcsco 
refcrens — this diabolical superstition assumed the name 
and the oihces of the Ciikistia.v Relioio.v. 

Such was the state of Europe when the star of the 
' Reformation' dawned upon it — that star of glorious 
promise, the harbinger of the Sun of Righteousness, 
whose beams are to irradiate and purify the whole earth. 
From that epoch to the present, the conflict between the 
powers of li«ihl and darkness, has continued without in- 
terruption. To the mere worldly observer, success on 



84 MEMOIR OF THE 

the part of Truth and Freedom lias at times appear«il 
more tlian doubtful ; but in all this loii"^ period there ha 
not been wanting, those whose vision, purihed .i 
strengthened by their communion wiih the Word of Gi 
clearly saw, and whose pens have distinctly recordtii, 
the ultimate triumph that awaited the friends of God aiil 
man. What they saw through a glass and by faith, \' 
behold with open vision. To any one who has taken e\ * ■■ 
the most superficial view of the past history and present 
condition of Europe, not a doubt can remain of the spe< 
and utter extinction of the I'apal Authority, both tenij 
ral and spiritual. The spirit of slavery, the doctrine d 
passive obedience, which are essential to its existenc « , 
are becoming more and more circumseril)ed in their in- 
fluence and operations, and will soon be scouted from 
the eaflh, back to the regions of darkness, whence ili< v 
ascended to enslave the world. 

We have not time nor room in this article, to trace tin 
^adual extension and progress of liberal opinions in 
Europe, from the period of the Reformation to the pn - 
sent time. Yet a single glance at the history of that er i 
will satisfy every one, that in proportion as Learning anl 
Science have made progress in any country, has the in- 
fluence of Pope and Priest been made to give way. 

In modern times, the clii«'f ornament and support of 
the I'apal ihronc has been Prance. This country has 
long occupied a commanding position in the world, no 
less from her military prowess and skill, than from ilic 
literary and scientific acquirements of h<'r scholars. — 
Though the mass of her inhabitants have been ignorant, 
yet learning has exercised a most important influence in 
elevating the srnliments and enlarging and liberalizing 
the views of many of her nobles, her prelates, and her 
statesmen. And the coiisecpicnce has been just what 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 85 

might have been expected. The Gallican cliurch has 
been exceedingly restive under the leaden influence of 
Rome, and his Holiness has found it necessary to be ex- 
ceedingly wary how he touched the fiery spirit of the 
Gaul. The Gallican church has enjoyed immunities 
granted to no other, and which fear alone extorted from 
the Roman Pontiff. Yet enough was not conceded to 
satisfy the demands of the rising spirit of freedom ; and 
chains, forged in the darkness of the pit, were wound so 
artfully around the giant limbs of France, that she lay a 
victim at the footstool of tyranny temporal and spiritual, 
until, at the epoch of the Revolution, with convulsive 
energy she burst assimder her bands, and in the first mo- 
ments of her gratified hate, inflicted such vengeance 
upon her oppressors as made even humanity recoil with 
horror from the spectacle. Yet when we consider the 
nature of the long train of events that preceded the 
French Revolution, the various causes tcndinn; to produce 
it, and how long a high spirited and generous people had 
been goaded and oppressed by a sottish, venal priesthood 
and a debauched monarchy ; it seems to us that that ter- 
rible catastrophe is rather to be deplored than wonder- 
ed at. 

As might have been expected, France, exulting in the 
first moments of her recovered freedom, went to the other 
extreme, and from having believed too much, refused to 
believe any thing. She became a nation of infidels. 
And such, to a great extent, she remains at the present 
day. With her, priest is but another name for bigot, and 
Christianity she confounds with Superstition. The mis- 
take is a very natural one, yet it is not the less to be 
dcploroil. Still there is hope for her, and hope which 
promises fruition a thousand times sooner than if she 
had remained a vassal of the Pope. If error is lamcnt- 

e 



86 MEMOIR OF THE 

ably prevalent there, yet truth is, in a good degree, free 
to combat it. Public Sentiment is free, liberal opinions 
put forth their claims unchallenged, the universal educa- 
tion of all classes is becoming an object of paramount at- 
tention, to accomplish which the Government is direct- 
ing all its energies. Such is now the state of France. 

We have been thus particular in our remarks upon this 
country, because from her commanding position, the his- 
tory of France is the hisiory of continental Europe. We 
now proceed to show — and this was indeed the primary 
object of these remarks — what the condition of Europe, 
when considered in reference to its great political divi- 
sions, is. And here we must of necessity be very brief. 

Looking at Europe with this object in view, we shall 
find the nations drawing together into two great divisions. 
In the south the liberalizing inlluences of France are seen 
at work in Spain and Portugal. In the latter they have 
driven Miguel, the sanguinary and bigoted favorite of 
the Pope, from the throne ; and in the former banished 
the heir by ' divine right,' Don Carlos, and restored the 
Cortes and the Constitution. In bolli tliey are ferreting 
out the lazy hionks from their cells of idleness and crime, 
and teaching them that * they that will not work neither 
shall they eat.' The natural consequence of all this is, 
that these two nations should assimilate themselves in 
their habits of thought and action to France. And as 
this nation occupies a leadins; position, she may be con- 
sidered at once as the irradiating and the attractive cen- 
tre of liberal opinions on the continent. England, since 
the days of her ' Reform,' is prepared to take ground 
by her side, and thus there will be seen under the ban- 
ners of freedom, civil and religious, England, France, 
Spain, and Portugal, with some or most of the minor 



I 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOV. 87 

States of Germany ; while on the side of despotism there 
will rally Russia — the head and soul of the confed- 
eracy — Austria, Prussia, and the Pope in his double 
character of a temporal and a spiritual prince. We think 
tlie movements in Europe indicate that tliis union of kin- 
dred interests — which when it happens will necessa- 
rily produce hostility — is even now taking place and 
will soon be consummated. Then will come the war 
of opinion, predicted by Napoleoim — a war more dread- 
ful, and more fierce than any which Europe has yet wit- 
nessed. Yet the final result, though long suspended, 
cannot be doubtful. Truth will triumph ; Freedom will 
triumph ; Religion will triumph. Babylon will have 
fallen, have fallen ; her incantations and her sorceries 
will no longer delude or destroy the human mind ; and 
she will no longer present an insurmountable barrier to 
the progress of religion ' pure and undefiled.' 

Such, if we read the signs aright, such is the pre- 
sent condition, such the future prospect of the European 
nations. If in the future there is much to excite regret, 
there is alsc much to animate and encourage the friends 
of God. It is plain that the reign of misrule, and des- 
potism, and anarchy, and superstitious bigotry are soon 
to come to an end. True its down-fall will not probably 
be accomplished, except at the expense of much blood 
and great su/Tering. But though God permits the earth- 
quake and the storm to desolate the earth, we know that 
they are necessary to purify a cornipted atmosphere. 
And as in the physical so in the moral world, though 
commotions, war, and carnage are painful in their opera- 
tions, they may be necessary in their results. And in all 
events, the Christian is assured that the peaceful reign 
of the Redeemer is hastening onward, when there 



88 MEMOIR OF THE 

shall be no more war, nor ' rumours of wars,' but 
when 

' Peace like a river from his throne, 
Shall flow to nations yet unknown.' " 



May \st, 1834 
" After so long a time, we are again permitted, though 
still with trembling hand, to hold the Editorial pen. The 
interval during which our labours have been suspended, 
has indeed been to us one of much pain and suffering. 
But 

' Swoet are the uses of adversity,' 

when sanctified by the presence and teachings of the 
Holy Spirit. We return to our work, with accumulated 
motives, and, as we hope, a strengthened purpose, to be 
' diligent in business, fervent in spirit, serving the 
Lord.' 

And most earnestly and affectionately would we ex- 
hort our readers, that whatsoever their hand findeth to 
do, they do with all their might. Especially do we en- 
treat those who have not yet commenced the work of 
their salvation, that they delay it no longer. A sick or 
a dying bed, when the mind is di.stracted with pain, or 
absorbed in the contemplation of the awful eternity that 
is opening upon its view, is no time to seek a Saviour. 
Seek him now then, ' while he may be found, call upon 
him while he is near.' And remember that whether we 
make haste, or not, to secure an interest in his salvation, 
time is surely and swiftly hastening us to the grave and 
the Judgment. How soon will all who read this para- 
graph be shaping in tlioir tombs ! Some undoubtedly — 
perhaps the writer among them — will be carried out in 
season for the jlowers of the coming summer to bloom 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 89 

upon their graves. How solemn the reflection, and yet 
how little heeded." 

VAIN PHILOSOPHY. 

August 2\ St, 1834. 
" If there ever was a sincere inquirer after truth it was 
Jonathan Edwards. And how few can hope to possess, 
in an equal degree, the advantages for pursuing the in- 
quiry which he possessed ? 

Learned, pious, acute, and persevering, he was yet 
humble and docile as a child. In him pride of opinion 
was never stronger than love for the truth. And yet his 
great work on the Freedom of the Will is, in one respect, 
a signal failure. He has indeed abundantly proved that 
man is a free agent, as also that all his actions are fore- 
known and fore-determined by his Maker. But there 
needed no long train of philosophical reasoning to prove 
these doctrines — the Bible had already done it before 
him. Yet in his attempt to reconcile these great truths 
to each other he has entirely failed. And if he failed, 
who shall succeed ? Nor is this failure to be wondered 
at ; for this very question David had confessed himself 
unequal to meet : — ' Such knowledge is too wonderful 
for me ; it is high, I cannot attain unto it.' 

Now here lies the great error of too many men. — In- 
stead of being satisfied with ascertaining the existence 
of a truth, they must needs determine the mode of its ex- 
istence. But this is an abuse of their powers of reason- 
ing, and it is of such very persons that Paul speaks, when 
he says, ' Professing themselves to be wise, they became 
fools.' The great Apostle was as prompt to rebuke the 
presumption of those who would have a God too well 
known, as he was to denounce the superstition of those 
who built altars to the Unknown God. 
8* 



90 MEMOIR OF THE 

The Being and attributes of God may be learned from 
the Book of Nature, but of his purposes we can know 
nothing, except by revelation. And it is equally an 
abuse of this revelation and our own faculties, if we seek 
to know farther than the simple facts revealed. Here it 
is that 

' Men rush in wlierc Angels fear to tread.' 

It is not only vain but it is sinful, to attempt prying 
into the counsels of the Infinite Mind. A few, a very 
few of the purposes of God have been revealed to us, but 
beyond these few all is unknown. * Clouds and dark- 
ness are round about his throne.' We may weary our- 
selves and oflend God, in the attempt, but we can never 
penetrate them. It is, therefore, an abuse of reason, to 
endeavour to look into the counsels of the Most High. 

But secondly, it is presumption in the highest degree, 
because we cannot understand the reasons of a revealed 
truth, therefore to reject it altogether. In very few in- 
stances, indeed, has God condescended to explain the 
reasons of his moral enactments, and in none have we a 
right to require tlwMn. ' Thus saith the Lord,' should 
at once put to rest the impertinent curiosity of man. 

Eve could not see why she might not as well eat of 
the forbidden tree as of others, since it was as fair to 
look upon as they ; and because (Jod had not explained 
to her tlie reason of his prohibition, she ventured to 
pluck the fruit 



' whose mortal tasto, 



BrouKhl dcaUi into tlic world and all oar wo.' 

That her awful fate has not deterred her descendants 
from following her example, is proof enough both of their 
depravity and thrir folly. 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 91 

Again. If wc cannot reconcile two revealed truths, 
so as to make tlicm consistent with each other, we have 
not, in consequence, any right to conclude that their 
agreement is impossible. Yet how often has this been 
done, to the shipwreck of faith as of souls. The doc- 
trines of the Trinity, of Election, &;c. are beyond our 
reason, but what right have we to say, that they are 
contrary to it ? Who, of mortal man, or of created be- 
ings, is authorized to pronounce upon the possible limita- 
tions of the Uncreated One ? How can we tell that as 
much Truth is not given as we can bear to know ? Who 
shull say tliat if God had revealed to us more of his eter- 
nal purposes and Godhead, the knowledge would not 
have overwhelmed us ? the light have been too great for 
our weak nerves to bear, and thus have made us alto- 
gether blind ? Let these questions be satisfactorily an- 
swered, before wc venture to complain of obscurity in the 
revelations of the Divine Mind. Let us cease, there- 
fore, perplexing ourselves in vain attempts to 'find out 
the Almighty.' We are finite, and how can we e.xpect 
to fathom and comprehend the questions of Freedom, 
Necessity, and the Origin of Evil, which reach through 
Infinitude, and take hold of the very Throne of God ? 
How can we construct a problem which shall embrace 
within its terms all the elements of Eternity ? 

Truth, as much of it as we need to know, is within 
us. In our soul of souls, in that consecrated region of 
the heart never disturbed by Argmnent or invaded by 
Doubt, lies a deep fountain of Truth, whose waters are 
continually welling up. Here let us drink and be re- 
freshed, neither asking how it came there, since it comes 
from that stream which flows ' fast by the Throne of 
God,' nor seeking to fathom its depths. It is enouirh 
that its waters are sweet, and that they are perennial. 



92 MEMOIR OF THE 

Beyond this we cannot know, and we must not seek to 
know. 

We were sent into this world not to dispute about the 
next, but to prepare for it. Of the next world we can 
know nothing but by revelation from Him who made it. 
That revelation has been given us, and now let us not 
seek to be wise above what is written. Let us seek 
rather to resolve no questions which are not required of 
us, and whenever apparent difficulties in the Purposes 
and Providences of God, meet us as we journey towards 
our heavenly home, let us contentedly, and even cheer- 
fully, say : 

' God is his own interpreter, 
And lie can make it plain.' " 



THE VANITY OF MAN. 

August 28, 1834. 
^' It was a beautiful thought of the Greek philosopher, 
when he compared the life of man to a bubble. Along 
the stormy ocean of life the diflerent generations of men 
arise like bubbles on a stream — at best a tear-drop in- 
flated wilh air. Some of these bubbles sink at once into 
the mass of waters whence they came ; others Hoat up 
and down for a turn or two upon the tops of the restless 
waves, and also disappear ; and even those which re- 
main the longest are in perpetual agitation and restless- 
ness, the sport of every breeze and every tide, until they 
too are swallowed up. 

It is even so wilh man. Some are l)orn only tliat they 
may die — like the bul)l)le blown up and destroyed by the 
same breath of air. Some abide a little longer, to bear 
the pellings of the storm, but their fragile forms are soon 
broken l»y the violence of the tempest. And those that 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOV. 03 

endure for a season, what are their lives but one con- 
tinued scene of disquietude, disappointment and doubt ; 
-while like the bubble tossed upon the unquiet waters, 
tiiey find no resting place for a moment, until they sink 
back into the earth from whence they were taken. 

'J'he Bible abounds witli the most impressive figures 
to teach us the vanity of human life. * For what is your 
life V says James, * It is even a vapor that appeareth 
for a little time and then vanisheth away.' ' We spend 
our years,' says Moses, ' as a tale that is told.' ' Be- 
hold,' says the plaintive David, ' behold, thou hast made 
my days as an handbreadth, and mine age is as nothing 
before thee ; verily every man at his best state is alto- 
gether vanity.' 

(,'an any thing be more affecting than this ? It is the 
language of a king — of one who had passed through 
many vicissitudes in life, having ascended from the oc- 
cupation of a shepherd, to the station of king over all 
Israel. He had reached the summit, the world had no- 
thing more to give ; yet looking back upon the past, and 
round upon the present scenes of his life, he sighs at the 
relh'ction, which is forced upon his mind, that they are 
* altogether vanity.' Alas ! the man has never lived, 
whether king or peasant, whose breast has not been 
heaved by the same sigh, whose heart has not been sad- 
dened by the same reflection. 

The causes that conspire to make the life of man on 
earth a * vanity,' and even a vexation of spirit are many. 

1. lie is a stranger here — he is not at home. His 
company, the scenes around him, every thing he sees, 
all he hears, are not adapted to his tastes, not fitted for 
his capacities. Like the caged bird his food is insipid, 
his vision confined, and he cannot choose but pine in his 
solitude, as he tliinks of the purer light, the brighter 



94 



MEMOIR OF THE 



scenes, and the boundless glory, among which he woulc 
fain, with unfettered wing, expatiate. But he is bount 
to earth ; clogged with clay ; and he who is fitted to soar 
and sing in the heavens, must grovel in the dust. And 
here feeding on ashes, he lives among the dead till Time 
can dig his grave also, into which he creeps and is seen 



no more. 



2. The vicissitudes of life are nothing but a series of 
disappointments. Whether for good or for ill, none of 
all our ten thousand cherished plans have succeeded ex- 
actly to our wish. The catastrophe came too soon or 
too late ; the scheme failed altogether, or its result was 
different from what we desired or expected. And if no 
present evils press upon us, we are distressed with the 
apprehensions of future, or disquieted with the remem- 
brance of past misfortunes ; and at best our hopes do 
but struggle with our fears, while we are left desolate. 
We are always either troubled or dissatisfied ; and if no- 
thing else makes us uneasy, even the very absence of our 
accustomed tormentors will make us so. And herein ap- 
pears the vanity of our state, that nothing restrains us 
from the madness and rioting of prosperity, but that every 
cup we put to our lips, is dashed with the bitterness of 
gall. Thus It has been well said of man that « he is 
always restless and uneasy, he dwells upon the waters 
and leans upon thorns, and lays his head upon a sharp 
stone.' * 

And what does the experience of every man but echo 
back the declaration of the prophet, ' Cursed be the man 
that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm?' He 
who does it leans upon a cracked reed that sooner or 
ater will break beneath him. Nisus and Kuryalus Pv- 
lades and Orestes may live in fable and in song, but'they 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOV. 95 

have never lived any where else. For so certain as 
winter succeeds summer, so true is it that 

* Tlie friends wlio in our sunshine live, 

In wintr>- days are flown ; 
And lie who has but tears to give, 
Must weep those tears alone.' 

This is poetry, it is true ; but it is not fiction, as many a 
deserted heart, many a desolate bosom can witness. Like 
motes in the sunbeams, friends gather around even to an- 
noyance in the days of prosperity, but at the first cloud 
that obscures the sky, at the first sound of the distant 
thunder they flee away, and leave him upon whom they 
had fattened, to bide alone the fury of the storm. Such 
is human friendship ; so empty, so valueless. 

Whuher, then, shall the heart-stricken mourner turn ? 
In the desolateness of his misery must he die, as he has 
lived, without hope ? No, he need not. As he flees to 
the grave, as to a refuge and a rest from ills he can no 
longer endure, Religion, heaven descended, meets him 
and bids him no further despair. She tells him of One 
whose friendship never fails, whose promises are never 
broken — of One who ' having loved his own loveth them 
unto the end.' She points him to a world where ingrati- 
tude and selfishness are unknown ; where the tear of an- 
guish never flows, the sigh of sorrow is never heaved ; 
where no vain regrets, no anxious forebodings, intrude 
upon the heart overflowing with joy; and bids him lie 
down and rest in hope, for that world is all his own. 
Who, thfn, would wish to live ? or rather, who would not 
wish to die ? Who is not ready to say with Job, ' I would 
not live always ?' Borne down with the weight of sin, 
oppressed with a sense of his own unwortliiness and the 
faithlessness of others, while the whole creation is 
groaning around him, being like him, * made subject to 



^^ MEMOIR OF THE 

vanity,' what would the Christian, what can he, but long 
to die ?— to close liis eyes and shut his ears upon the 
scenes and the discords of earth, until he can open them 
to the beauties and the melodies of heaven ?" 

SIR ISAAC NEWTON. 

" We have just been looking through the life of this 
great man, by Dr. Brewster. It is exceedingly interest- 
ing as detailing the process and the several steps by 
which he ascended to the visible heavens, and there 
walked with God with the stars beneath his feet. Yet 
though he ascended so high, and stood where the hori- 
zons of a thousand worlds fell within his vision, though 
he looked upward and around into heights and depths, 
where the eye of no other mortal, save that of Laplace 
has pierced, he had and expressed the humblest views of 
his own powers and acquisitions. 

To others, to the great mass of mankind, he seems to 
have been borne on the wings of thought, even to the ut- 
most verge of Nature's dominions, to have explored with 
unerring ken her most secret chambers, and to have un- 
covered and brought to the light all those secret springs 
that complicated machinery, by which she enforces and 
regulates the movements of systems and suns, with aU 
heir worlds, through the regions of space. And such is 
the sentiment of the poet respecting him : 

' Nature and Nature's laws lay I.id in night, 
God said, Let Newton bo-and all was iiglit.' 

But hear his own estimation of all that he had achiev- 
ed :-. I ,lo not know,' said he, < what I may appear to 
he world, but to myself I seem to have been only like a 
boy playingon the seashore, and diverting myself in now 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 



97 



and then finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell 
than ordinary, while the great ocean of truth lay all un- 
discovered before me.' This is undoubtedly the true 
estimate, and what a lesson does it teach to the vanity of 
man ! If Newton thus humbled himself before the Un- 
created Intelligence, because, with all his efforts, he 
could learn so little of His ways, what room is left for 
others to boast 1 This most instructive declaration af- 
fords another proof, that the studies of the Book of Na- 
ture and of Revelation lead to the same result, though m 
different degrees, and that the student of each will, in 
reference to their Author, be ready to say, in the words 
of the poet, 

« The more Thy glories strike my view, 
The humbler I shall lie.' 

And who, we may ask, in the pride of human strength 
and wisdom will venture upon a voyage over that 
shadowy Ocean, from which Newton shrank back dis- 
mayed ? Or, if the example of this great man will not 
deter us, at least let us be warned from the rash enter- 
prise by the innumerable wrecks which strew its shore, 
of those who have made the attempt and perished. And 
yet this Ocean must be passed ere we can be at rest. It 
rolls between Time and Eternity, between Earth and 
Heaven ; and it is on its outmost shores, far, far beyond 
all mortal ken, that the land of promise lies. There, 
and there only, are those ' sweet fields' that 

' stand drest in living green i' 

there the ' flowery mounts ;' there Jesus, the Forerun- 
ner, and the assembly of the saints made perfect ; there 
ihe'uiver of life, and there the Paradise of God. 

But let us not be dismayed. It was as a Philosopher 
9 



98 MEMOIR OF THE 

that Newton feared to venture upon its waves, and not 
as a Christian. Science could not bear him over in 
safety ; but Faith could. While even to the eagle eye 
of Science all was unmitigated darkness, Faith with yet 
keener vision could pierce the gloom, and, far above the 
region of the tempest, could discern the Star of Bethle- 
hem shining mildly and tranquilly down, and guiding to 
the haven of peace. She, too, and she alone, though the 
sea and all the waves thereof roar, could hear the voice 
of Him who walked upon the waters, saying, ' It is I ; 
be not afraid.' With such a guide the Christian embark- 
ed in confidence, and, we cannot doubt, landed in safety. 

And this, after all, was the true glory of Newton. For 
while he questioned Nature with high and daring resolve, 
and compelled her to disclose her most hidden secrets, 
he never questioned Nature's God. All the paths by 
which he walked through her labyrinths terminated in a 
Great First Cause, and beyond that he would not move a 
step. Beyond that he knew and felt was a region of 
• emptiness' and ' nothingness' where he could not 
stand, with ' darkness upon the face of the deep' which 
the Omniscient Eye alone could pierce. Hence to his 
own mind, his profoundest researches served but to con- 
firm the truth revealed from heaven, — ' In the beginning 
God created the heaven and the earth.' And thus it was 
that his highest flights carried him no higher than to the 
feet of Jesus, where he sat down to learn the simple yet 
sublime doctrines of the gospel, with all the docility and 
single-heartedness of a child. 

The whole history of human learning and sci- 
ence affords nothing so affectingly instructive in this 
respect, as the example of Newton. Not that he is the 
only instance whore profound attainments have been 
made subservient to the cause of divine truth. Far from 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 99 

it. By much the greater number of tliose names, which 
in modern days have iUustrated the circle of the sciences, 
are found enrolled among the humble followers of the 
Lamb. But as of all these names Newton's is the most 
illustrious, so perhaps was his humility the most sincere 
and uiifeigned." 

The Editor of the Observer frequently rode into the 
countr)^ around St. Louis, preaching and attending meet- 
ings of the Synod and Presbytery, as also, meetings for 
various benevolent objects. A sabbath spent at Apple 
Creek is thus described. 

Apple Creek, May 22 J, 1835. 
" The church at Apple Creek, with the exception of 
the First church in your city, is the largest in the State. 
Thenumber of members returned to the General Assem- 
bly of 1834, was 206. I forgot to enquire the present 
number. The congregation also, worshipping with this 
church is, I judge, much more numerous, than any other 
out of St. Louis. Indeed, from what I saw, I should 
think it would come but little short, in point of numbers, to 
the first society in that city. To see the congregation 
assemble, reminded me of the descriptions I have often 
read, of the gathering of the Highland clans at the 
muster call of their leaders. An unpractised eye could 
discern not the least sign that would betoken the vicinage 
of human beings. But at the first sound of the bugle, 
every brake, and hollow, the shieling of every hill, would 
pour forth Us tide of living beings to swell the number of 
the gathering multitude. Even so it was here. The 
meeting-house stands deeply embowered in the woods, 
which shut the prospect in on every side. Arriving 
there, a short time before the hour of worship, a person 



100 MEMOIR OF THE 

accustomed to live in cities, would conclude that few 
would be there to disturb his solitary meditations ; but 
as the appointed hour approaches, an unexpected change 
passes over the scene. As if by magic, it becomes at 
once animated with the presence of living beings. 
From every quarter, and almost from behind every tree, 
the hardy yeomanry of the country come pouring in, ac- 
companied by their wives, children, and sweethearts. 
Generally they come on horseback, the young men glory- 
ing in their horsemanship, as they caricole from side to 
side of the narrow pathway, to remove the overhanging 
limbs and grape vines, lest they annoy the damsels who 
are riding at their elbows, while the man of middle 
age, sobered by matrimony, comes jogging up, with his 
wife behind, and his child before him, on the same ani- 
mal. I envy not the man his feelings, who can look upon 
such unsophisticated examples of domestic happiness 
and youthful hopes, and not find his heart pervaded with 
sympathizing gladness. These aro the sober enjoyments 
of every day life, which a benevolent God gives to 
every one who has not weakly or wickedly thrown them 
away. 

Entering the house of God, you look round upon a most 
interesting assembly. Nearly all but the younger part, 
have been gathered from distant regions; they have 
come to die in a land unknown to their fathers, but not 
so to their fathers' God. Him they still worship, as 
they worshipped him, in the hours of their infancy— 
theirs is the same Redeemer, the same promises, the 
same gospel, and theirs, too, the same assurance of im- 
mortality. Here, close by the pulpit, is an aged pil<,rrim. 
He has travelled seven hundred miles ' leaning upon tho 
top of his stair' but his journies are now over, save the 
last one that all must take, and from which none return. 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 101 

His head is like the almond tree, and he goes bowed down 
alway ; but he cannot fall, for a Saviour's arm upholds 
him. Let him go in peace ; let no one seek to detain him, 
when his Redeemer calls him to his presence, that He 
may clothe that mortal with immortality. 

Yonder sits a man of middle age, with his family 
around him, his beloved and affectionate partner and his 
children, the youngest now verging upon manhood and 
womanhood. His was a covenant, and, in his case, well 
has he shown himself, a covenant-keeping, God. Dedi- 
cated himself in infancy, to the God of Abraham, with a 
heart overflowing with gratitude for the privilege, as God 
gave him children, from time to time, he presented them 
in the arms of faith before the altar, that the name of 
Israel's God might be named upon them, and they too 
be embraced in the provisions of the same gracious and 
ever-abiding covenant. He brought them up in ' the 
nurture and admonition of the Lord,' and now God 
has given them all to him again, in a second birth. The 
world calls these children poor, and this family obscure. 
But is it so ? Children of the covenant, the Spirit has now 
sealed them as heirs of God's eternal kingdom — trace 
their course a few years onward, and they are seen 
shining in that kingdom, higher and brighter than the 
stars forever and ever. If this be poverty and obscuri- 
ty, then what are this world's riches and splendor ? 

There is a young woman — no father or mother has she 
to whom she may look for counsel and instruction, no 
sister into whose sympathizing bosom she might pour 
her joys and sorrows, no brother on whom to lean for 
that support, which none but a brother can give. And 
yet she is not alone. Daily she communes with her Sa- 
viour, and through him, with heaven and all its delights. 
On him she leans, from him she receives counsel and 
9* 



103 MEMOIR OF THE REV. E. P. LOVEJOY- 

instruction, wliile in obedience to his commands she seeks 
to fullill as an ' hireling her day,' that when it is over, 
she may go to rest in His bosom forever. 

Such are some of the varieties of character to be met 
with in a congregation in Missouri. Alas ! it is to be 
feared there are others of a difhrent type. There may 
be the hoary head, with all its sins resting unforgiven 
upon it — there may be the apostate from the church and 
the altar of God, there a young man, who has broken 
away from the restraints of a pious home, to commence a 
career of vice and profligacy : and there another, who 
has renounced the God of his fathers, and having him- 
self become the head of a family, is founding a new dy- 
nasty of rebels. Better had that man never been born ! 
I rejoice to say, that I saw no indications of any such in 
the congregation at Apple Creek. The assembly was 
universally and uniformly attentive and devout." 



CHAPTER VII. 

In this chapter several articles upon Romanism are 
introduced, which exhibit the arguments and the spirit, 
with which the Editor of the Observer combated the de- 
lusions, errors, and wickedness of the " Infallible 
Church." 

TRANSUBSTANTIATION. 

" There is one plain argument against this doctrine, 
which can never be set aside : 

1. We are required to believe that the consecrated 
bread and wine are really the flesh and blood of the 
Lord Jesus Christ, because the Bible says, or rather the 
Saviour speaking in the Bible, ' This,' (that is, the bread,) 
' is my body,' and ' This,' (that is, the wine,) ' is my 
blood.' Now supposing I ask how am I to know that 
the Bible says any such thing ? The priest opens the 
book, and shows me the very words, ' This is my body.' 
But now I ask to sec the bread and the wine thus meta- 
morphosed. The priest gives me the wafer, I taste it, it 
tastes like bread ; I smell it, it smells like bread, I handle 
it, lifccls like bread. And so of the wine. 

2. I therefore turn to the priest, and say here arc three 
senses to one, in favour of these elements being bread and 
wine still ; I am therefore bound to believe them so. I 
cannot, from the very laws of my being, believe one 
sense in preference to three. I am, therefore, bound to 



104 MEMOIR OF THE 

seek some other fair interpretalion of the words ' This is 
my body,' than the one you have given them, or else re- 
ject them aUogether. And here 1 need be at no loss. 
Turning to John x. 9, I find Jesus saying, * I am the 
door;' and in John xv. 1, he says ' 1 am the true vine,' 
yet you do not pretend to make the Saviour literally say, 
that he was a door or a vine. Or if he had, when speak- 
ing to his disciples, intended to be understood literally, 
and they had so understood his meaning, they could not 
have believed him. They heard him say so, but they 
smelled, saw, and felt that he was not so ; and conse- 
quently must distrust their own hearing, or his veracity. 
And the case would be the same when sitting with him 
at the supper of the passover. If he declared to them 
that they were eating and drinking flesh and blood, they 
could only know that he did so by the sense of hearing, 
whereas by three senses, taste, touch, and smell, they 
would be assured they were doing no such thing. Ac- 
cording to the very laws of the human mind, therefore, 
they could not so understand him. 

3. The only remark we have to make upon this argu- 
ment, is, that no man, in his senses, ever believed fully 
and fairly, the doctrine of transubstantiation. It is im- 
possible that he should do so. He might as well believe 
that fire is cold and ice is hot, or that a thing is and is 
not at the same time. Let us not be misunderstood ; 
there have, doubtless, been many men wlio honestly 
thought they believed it ; but owing to the prejudice of 
education, their minds, in this point, was dark, and saw 
things that were not as though they were. So often do 
we see individuals afllicted with mental imbecility on 
some particular sulijoct, but perfectly sane on ever}' other. 
In tliis way we can account for the fact that many good 
men have unquestionably supposed they believed the doc- 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 105 

trine of iransubstantiation ; a dogma which, if true, makes, 
as has been well said, every other truth a lie." 



NUNNERIES. 

"That these institutions should ever have acquired 
any favour in a connnunity so shrewd, sagacious, and 
suspicious as the American people are, is truly a wonder. 
And that they should have succeeded in obtaining in- 
mates from the families of Protestants and even members 
of the Church, is still more astonishing. It is to be ac- 
counted for on no common principle of human action. 
In this, as in other things, Romanism has shown itself a 
' mystery of iniquity.' 

What is a Nunnery ? Have the American people 
ever asked themselves this question ? And if so, have 
they ever reflected long enough upon it to obtain an an- 
swer satisfactory to their own minds ? What is a Nun- 
nery, we ask again? We will tell. It is a dwelling 
whose inmates consist of unmarried females, of all ages, 
tempers, dispositions, and habits. These females have 
entered into voluntary vows of chastity, poverty, and obe- 
dience to the rules of their order and their spiritual supe- 
riors. They have been induced to take these vows and 
exclude themselves from the world, from various motives. 
Some whose affections were young and ardent, from disap- 
pointment of the heart; some from love of retirement; 
some from morbid sensitiveness to the world of society, 
and some others, from the blandishments of Priests and 
Lady Superiors. In Europe there is another cause — 
operating more than any other, perhaps than all others — 
which peoples the Convents. Unfeeling parents make 
them the receptacle of those daughters, who may be in 
the way of the aggrandizement of other members of the 



106 MEMOIR OF THE 

family, or who may be disposed to contract an alliance 
which they will not approve. This, too, is probably a 
remote cause of many entering convents in this country. 

Very well ; now let us take a Convent, whose inmates 
have been brought together from causes like the above. 
There are the aged, the middle aged, the young, the ar- 
dent, the beautiful. Thus much concerning them we all 
know. 

But one of these communities issues, through their 
Superior, to the community in which it is situated, pro- 
posals for taking young ladies as inmates in their dwell- 
ing, and educating them there. This is all well enough. 
But now suppose a Protestant parent, before committing 
his daughters to their guardianship, visits the Convent to 
learn something of its character. He finds it situated in 
a retired place, surrounded with a high wall, embosomed 
in luxurious groves. All the charms of nature and art 
are combined to render its retreat inviting, and its bowers 
alluring. Into one only room can the visitant have ac- 
cess. Labyrinthian passages, in various directions, lead 
to apartments never to be profaned by a Protestant eye. 
All here is seclusion and mystery. These doors are 
locked ; and neither parent, brother, friend, nor even 
sister, can turn the key. Yet to this rigid exclusion there 
is one exception. The Catholic Priest is privileged to 
come at all hours, and on all occasions as may suit his 
convenience. He has the ' open sesame,' before which 
the door of every department flies open, and admits him 
to familiar, unrestrained intercourse with its inmates. 
But who is the Catholic Priest ? Is he aged, venerable ? 
Is he even a married man ? No ; he is (or may be) a 
young man, and like those whom he visits bound by his 
vow to a life of celibacy. And whatever his vow may 
have been, his looks show abundantly that fasting, pen- 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 



107 



ance, and mortifying of the body make no part of his 
practice. His is not the lean and subdued countenance of 
the penitent, but the jolly visage of the sensualist rather. 
Alas! for the ladies of the convent, if his vow of chastity 
is kept no better than his vow of poverty and penance. 
And what reason have we to suppose it is ? If he vio- 
late it in one case, why not in the other ? The tempta- 
tion is, at least, as great. 

We will present this subject in a little diflerent light. — 
Suppose a dozen young ministers from the Theological 
Seminary of Princeton, having just been ordained, should 
come out and take up their abode in the city of St. Louis. 
Supposing some one of our wealthy citizens, or, if you 
please, citizens of Boston, or New York, should furnish 
them with the funds requisite to put up a building in some 
retired place in the outskirts of the town — supposing the 
building finished — furnished — enclosed with a high wall, 
evidently intended for exclusion. Suppose now the 
young gentlemen advertise in the newspapers of the city, 
that they have brought with them from Boston a dozen 
young ladies, who have each made a solemn promise 
that they will never marry, and that these ladies are now 
in the newly erected building, prepared to open a school, 
and to receive female pupils as boarders. Suppose they 
also should make it known that these young ladies had 
chosen one of their own number — or perhaps the arrange- 
ment might be that they should take turns in performing 
this ofiice, but always so that but one at a time should be 
at the house — to be their father confessor, and that he 
was to have access to their dwelling at any or all times, 
coming and going unquestioned, and that he, or certainly 
his fellows, were to be the only males who should have 
access to, or authority in, the establishment. All this 
being perfectly understood, let us, for the last time, sup- 



108 MEMOIR OF THE 

pose that one of these young gentlemen should go round 
to the respectable families of our city, and solicit that 
their daughters might become the inmates, as pupils, of 
their establishment. What reception would he be likely 
to meet with? How many young ladies would he be 
hkely to collect for his school ? 

Yet, gentle reader, suppose all the above conditions 
fulfilled, and you have a Protestant Convent, or Nun- 
nery, formed, in all its essential features, on the most 
approved mod«l of the Romanists. Who would trust a 
dozen Protestant ministers, under such circumstances as 
these ? No one. And, mdeed, the very fact, that they 
asked to be trusted would prove them all unworthy. But 
do the annals of the Church show that the Popish priest- 
hood are more worthy of trust, purer, holier than the 
Protestant clerg}- ? Read ' Scipio de Ricci,' and ' Blan- 
co White ;' read ' Secreta Monita' of the Jesuits, ' Bow- 
er's History of the Popes,' and ' Text Book of Popcr}-,' 
or if these will not convince, read Hume, Gibbon, Rob- 
ertson, and even Lingard himself— read Roscoe's Leo 
the Tenth ; nay thiir own approved manuals of faith and 
practice. Read these and know that corruption, rank 
and foul, has always steamed and is now steaming from 
the thousand monasteries, convents, and nunneries, that 
are spread, like so many plague spots, over the surface 
of Europe. 

We do not say, for we do not believe, that they have 
reached the same degree of pollution in this country. 
Far from it—and yet we are no advocates of, or believ- 
ers in, their immaculate purity. But what we say is this, 
that so long as human nature remains as it is, so long 
will the tendency, the unavoidable tendency, of such in^ 
slitutionsbe to iniquity and rorniption. Wc care not in 
whose hands they are, Popish or Protestant, they tempt 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 109 

to sin all who are connected with them. Wc might 
even admit that they were founded with good intentions — 
which, in many instances, we have no doubt has been 
the case — and still our objections to them would be no 
whit lessened. Talk of vows oi' chastity, in chambers oi' 
impenetrable seclusion, and amidst bowers of voluptuous- 
ness and beauty ! Tis a shameful mockery, and especi- 
ally with the records of history spread out before us. 
For that informs us that the Nunnery has generally been 
neither more nor less, than a seraglio for the friars of the 
monastery." 

WHY DISCUSS THE SUBJECT OF POPERY? 

June nth, 1835. 
'' We need not inform our readers that our columns have 
been, for some months past, considerably occupied with 
the discussion of Popery, in ail its bearhigs, civil, and 
religious ; social and intellectual. We now propose 
brielly, to state the reasons why we have thought proper 
to take such a course. 

1. It is not to gratify any personal feelings of our own. 
We can truly say that there is not a single individual, a 
member of the Romish church, towards whom we have 
a single feeling of unkindness. Many of them in this 
city, have been our personal friends, and for aught we 
know are so still — at any rate we are theirs. With the 
Romish clergy, we have no personal acquaintance, and 
towards them, as individuals, have none but the kindest 
feelings of good will — it being our daily prayer that they 
may see, and renounce, the dangerous and deadly errors 
of their religious creed. 

2. It is not that we distrust the patriotism of the mem- 
bers of the Romish church in this city, that we sound the 

10 



110 MEMOIR OF THE 

alarm of danger to our institutions from Popery. There 
is no more respectable or intelligent portion of our citi- 
zens, than many of those who are of French origin, and 
who are either nominally or really members of the Ro- 
mish church. We have known them long, and bear our 
willing testimony to the high minded and honourable 
feelings which actuate them as friends, as men of busi- 
ness, and as American citizens. They are republicans, 
in the genuine sense of that term, and there is no class 
of our citizens to whom we would more readily or confi- 
dently entrust the guardianship of our free institutions. 
We do not believe they would surrender them to King, 
Bishop, or Pope. Many of them are among the wealthi- 
est and nvost influential of our citizens, distinguished for 
the urbanity of their manners, the hospitality of their 
houses, and those other social virtues that so favourably 
characterize the country of their ancestors. It cannot 
therefore be for the purpose of injuring any of this class, 
that we denounce the tendencies of the religion, so many 
of them profess. 

3. It is not for the sake of acquiring popularity. With 
a great majority of our fellow-citizens, the course we have 
taken, and which we intend to pursue, with unabated 
vigour, is a most unpopular one. So far as we know, 
with some few exceptions, all that class of our citizens 
who may be called nominal Protestants, are entirely and 
decidedly opposed to our course. This opposition some- 
times — when there are immediate selfish purposes to be 
gained — assumes the character of personal hostility, and 
an open stand in favour of Popery. In the hearts of the 
ignorant, and, of course, bigoted adherents of the Romish 
church, and especially in those of its Priests, it has engen- 
dered, and still supplies a fountain of the bitterest and 
most malignant hatred, whicli weekly discharges itself 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. Ill 

upon our head, in an undiluted stream of vulgarity and 
abuse. Lastly, there are many of our brethren, who 
view the matter in a light different from us, and from 
whom we receive no aid, but discouragement rather, and 
cold regards. At the East it is different ; but where our 
paper circulates, not one half of the members of the dif- 
ferent Protestant churches, are awakened to a sense of the 
danger that is pressing upon us from the increase of Pope- 
ry. By many of our fellow-citizens, whom we respect, and 
whose good opinion we highly value, we are called bigot, 
fanatic, intolerant, quarrelsome ; and besides have often 
to encounter the cold regrets of many of our well-mean- 
ing, but timid brethren. These things have all along 
been seen and felt by us ; and it will therefore be read- 
ily acknowledged that in espousing the cause we have 
chosen, we did it not for the sake of popularity, or of 
making our position as Editor, an easy one. 

The question now again returns : why then choose 
such a position, and w hy maintain it ? Why continue 
these attacks upon the tenets of Popery, when confess- 
edly many unpleasant consequences will result ? We 
are now prepared to give this question a short and de- 
cisive answer. It is this. We maintain our warfare 
against the principles and dogmas of Popery, because 

WE BELIEVE THE CAUSE OF HUMANITY, OF FREEDOM, OF 
VITAL PIETY, IN A WORD, THE CAUSE OF TRUTH, DE- 
MANDS IT. 

Such being our entire and undoubting conviction, we 
should be false to every sentiment we profess, a recre- 
ant coward in defence of every principle we hold most 
dear, should we lay down our weapons and retire, or 
permit ourselves to be driven from the field. The con- 
test we admit, is an arduous one ; we have to bear up 
against a host of opposing influences, that would long 



112 MEMOIR OF THE 

since have crushed us, had we not been upheld by an 
abiding and controlling sense of duty. Hitherto that has 
sustained us, and by the grace of God it shall still sus- 
tain us, in our conllict with the ' Man of Sin,' ' whose 
coming is after the working of Satan, with all power, 
and signs, and lying wonders,' until the Lord shall de- 
stroy him ' with the brightness of his coming.' Then — 
if it come in our day — will we lay down the ' weapons 
of our warfare ;' if not we shall contiiuie to ' fight the 
good fight' until death, assured that others more worthy 
will finish, what we, in common with others, were hon- 
oured to begin. 

One word more. It is often said — and it constitutes 
the most plausible objection we have heard — that the 
discussion of this subject tends to introduce unkind feel- 
ings into society, to create jealousies, ill-will, and dis- 
trust amonjT neighbours and fellow-citizens: We admit, 
and regret, but cannot help this consequence. It proves 
nothing, however, either for good or for evil. ' I came 
not to send peace on earth,' said the Saviour, ' but a 
sword.' Wherever Paul went, preaching the gospel, he 
was accused of turrung society ' upside down ;' and the 
charge, as to the mere fact, though not in the evil sense 
intended, was true. Whoever sets himself, firmly, to 
breast the current of popular sentiment, will find at once, 
its waves breaking around him ; and in proportion to the 
strength of the current, will be tlie violence of their on- 
set and the noise of their roaring. If frightened at the 
outcry and clamour of those, whose easy onward pro- 
gress has been interrupted, or at the gathering fury of the 
waters, let him give way and turn and swim with the 
stream — he will soon find a perfect calm again. Neither 
of these is our own case. We took our stand under the 
firmest convictions of duty, coolly, calmly, deliberately ; 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 113 

having counted well what it would cost to maintain it. 
These same convictions still fix us there — where we ex- 
pect and intend to remain, until the Master we serve 
shall call us away, to fill our place with one more de- 
voted to his interests, and more skilled to contend with 
his enemies. 

P. S. We were writing the above article, in our 
ofTice, on Saturday morning, and had got about two-thirds 
of the way through it, when a friend stepped in, saying 

as he entered, ' I come at the request of Mr. , to 

subscribe, in his name, for the ' Observer.' He says, 
that while so many of the Protestant Newspapers and 
Clergymen, are fearful and undetermined, he wishes to 
give his support and countenance to a paper that has so 
boldly set itself to resist the tide of Popery, which is now 

flowing in and threatens to overwhelm us.' Mr. is 

a Methodist brother, and resides in Michigan Territory. 

Now this incident is a small one of itself, but we no- 
tice it because of the eflfect it had upon our leelings, par- 
ticularly in reference to the time of its occurrence. We 
could not but regard it as a good omen ; as an indication 
of Providence, that our course in this matter was ap- 
proved." 

St. Louis, Aufr. 21th, 1835. 
" We recommend to the ' Argus' a perusal of the fol- 
lowing paragraph copied from the ' National Gazette.' 
The ' Argus' has taken the Catholics into his special 
keeping. Why ? Simply because he wants their votes. 
Now we do not care on which side the Catholic votes, 
nor to which party he belongs. Nor do we wish to 
touch any of the rights belonging to any class of citizens, 
Catholic or Protestant, Jew or Mahometan. But what 
we say, and maintain, and prove by undeniable facts, is, 
10* 



114 MEMOIR OF TUT. 

that Popery and Freedom, whether civil or religious, 
are incompatible with each other — they cannot co-exist. 
What we warn our countrymen to be on their guard 
against, is, the hordes of ignorant, uneducated, vicious 
foreitnicrs who are now llocking to our shores, and who, 
under the guidance of Jesuit Priests, are calculated, fit- 
ted and intended to subvert our liberties. 

Put the ' Argus' wishes us to hold our peace because 
it wishes religion to be kept entirely unconnected with 
politics.' Doubtless, doubtless it does. Its conduct 
shows that plain enough. But we can tell the ' Ar- 
gus' that it is for this very reason that we will not hold 
our peace. It is because we see the ' Argus' and other 
similar politicians, of all political creeds and complex- 
ions, endeavouring to separate religion and politics, that 
we labour to prevent this divorce. We wish every man 
when he votes, to do it in the fear of God ; and that is 
what we call a union of religion and politics. And it is 
the only union we desire. 

Partisan politics — for why should we not speak out ? 
— are operating the downfall of our country. Do we 
accuse one party more than another ? No. We see a 
mournful dcjstitulion of moral principle among them all. 
They turn with the veering wind. Look at the New York 
Courier and Enquirer. Two or three years ago it was 
the champion of Irishmen ; it would not suffer a word 
to be said in derogation of them or their priests. And 
why ? Simply because it was then attached to that party 
to which most of these ignorant foreigners belonged. 
But the Courier has since changed its position, and is 
now as zealously engaged in proclaiming the dangers of 
Popery, as it once was in defending it from all attacks. 
And though we believe that it is now on the right side, 
80 far as Popery is concerned, yet have we any confi- 



REV. E. P. LOVE JO V. 115 

(lence in such a co-adjutor? None at all. Self-inter- 
est, real or supposed, placed the Courier where it is, 
and at its bidding it would go back to its old position. 

So here, in our own city. Unconnected with any party, 
but an American citizen, and as such, and especially as 
an American Christian, deeply interested in the perpetu- 
ity of our free institutions, our civil and religious freedom, 
we saw the encroachments of Popery upon both. We 
saw the stealthy, cat-like step, the hyena grin, with 
which the ' Mother of Abominations,' was aj)prouching 
the Fountain of Protestant Liberty, that she might cast 
into it the poison of her incantations, more accursed 
than was ever seethed in the Caldron of Hecate. We 
saw, too, that as it had been with us, so it still was with 
most of our citizens — they were insensible to the danger 
awaiting them. We raised the alarm. We have con- 
tinued to sound it aloud ; and we have the unspeakable 
gratification to know that it has not been wholly in vain. 
In the discharge of this sacred duty, owed first to 
our God, and next to our country, we have had nothing 
but a good conscience to sustain us. Obloquy and re- 
proach have been our portion ; and who has ventured to 
defend us ? Not a single political press of any party. 
Discordant as might be their voices in other matters, 
they chimed harmoniously in attacking us, and defend- 
ing the Papists. Thus the ' Republican' and the * Ar- 
p\\s.^ And why ? Because each wanted Catholic votes. 
Well; the * Argus,' it seems, has got them; and the 
* Republican' now says, through its correspondents at 
least, the very things against Papists which it abused us 
for saying ; while the ' Argus' redoubles its zeal and fury in 
their defence. We rejoice at the stand the ' Republican' 
has now taken. We hope it will have courage to maintain 
it, but we greatly fear the contrary. Let history be consult- 



116 MEMOIR OF THE REV. E. P. LQVEJOY. 

e(3,let the present stale of the world be inspected, and the 
* Republican' will find that in no way can it render so ef- 
leciual a service to its country, as by opposing that tre- 
mendous tide of foreign emigration which even now 
threatens to sweep away all that we hold dear. 

For the ' Argus, ' we hope the lesson it has just re- 
ceived will not be lost upon it. Let it learn, henceforth, 
to pay some regard to principle in the selection of its 
leaders. The great mass of the people are of honest 
intentions. They may be deceived and deluded, but, in 
this country, they cannot well be corrupted. If no 
hurher principle, therefore, restrain the * Argus ' from al- 
lyhig Itself to Jesuitism, let it at least be restrained by the 
fear^cven in this, of being thrown into a minority. And 
even if victorious, depend upon it, Mr. ' Argus,' the only 
reward which Jesuitism would give you, would be the 
same which Polyphemus vouchsafed to Ulysses -that of 
being the last devoured." 



CHAPTER VIII. 

We come now to the subject of Slavery. Articles 
upon this subject were occasionally found in the " Obser- 
ver" from the beginning. It did not, however, occupy a 
larfTor proportion of the entire sheet, than two and a half 
millions bear to ff teen millions. The Editor was, during 
this period, thorougly convinced of the sin of Slavery, 
and, at the same time, cherished an ardent desire to see 
it abolished. But he was seeking a point where these 
views, and opposition to immediate abolition might be 
coincident. To discover such a point, he framed all the 
moral problems, and drew the figures for their illustration, 
whicli a fertile genius, extensive knowledge, and honest 
intentions could devise. That point, however, we hardly 
need say, he never found. Thousands made the same 
experiments before him, and many are continuing these 
attempts, destined, we doubt not, to the same disappoint- 
ment. It is devoutly to be hoped, that with equal frank- 
ness they will acknowledge their mistake, and como 
forth and stand upon the immoveable basis of everlasting 
Truth. One thing always gave us pleasure, while we 
dilVt'red in opinion from our brother upon this subject, — 
he ever appeared to act up to the light which shone 
upon his path. When, therefore, he saw that immediate 
abolition was the only ground on which to stand, and 
move the mass of cruelty, injustice, and corruption which 
the word Slavery imports, he placed himself upon it, and 
here ' he conquered, though he fell.' 



118 MEMOIR OF THE 

We shall now give such extracts from the editorial 
pen as will exhibit his sentiments, and the manner in 
which he treated this subject. 

SLAVERY. 

June, 18.34. 
"This subject is one which has always, since we 
have known any thing of the Southern and Slave-holding 
Western States, been regarded as exceedingly delicate 
and difhcult of management. We feel it to be so at the 
moment of penning these remarks. Not because — as 
some of our Abolitionist brethren will charge us — we fear 
the truth, and are unwilling to perform our duty, but, be- 
cause there is real dilHcuhy in ascertaining what that 
duty is. The man who has been reared in the midst of 
Slavery, and acquainted with the system from his earli- 
est infancy, who regards the coloured man as part of the 
estate bequeathed to him by his parents, and his right 
over him guaranteed by the constitution of his country, 
becomes excited, when any one denies this right, and 
lays down ethical principles for his government, that, in 
their operation, must beggar him. Nor is this all ; he 
finds himself the subject of bitter invective and unmea- 
sured denunciation. As a man, stripped of all honourable 
pretension, and made a participant with the heartless 
man-stealer, whose crime he abhors. As a Christian, 
denounced and accounted a profaner of the symbols of 
his holy religion. Held up to society as a monster in 
human shape, a tyrant who delights in the pangs inflicted 
upon his fellow-man. We have never wondered that 
under such circumstances, it should be an excitins: sub- 
ject — he must be more than human who would not bo 
sensible of the recoil in his feelings. U^i may at tho 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 119 

same time be wrong. But his early associations — his 
prejudices, are all upon the side of long established 
opinions ; and hence it should hardly be expected, that 
at the first glance, he should see the truth as one ditVer- 
enlly situated may see it, and instantly espousing the 
opinion of the opposite party, give an evidence of his 
sincerity that the other \va.s never called to give, by pass- 
ing immediately from ailluence to poverty. In all con- 
troversies there is a strong tendency in the parties to 
take extreme ground — so in this — and hence he finds 
himself charged with views and feelings, and base mo- 
tives for his opposition, which he is at the moment con- 
scious he does not possess, and which the very man who 
presses the charge against him, in his cooler moments, 
would not think of making. Certain it is, that in this 
controversy, no one will be persuaded by naked denun- 
ciation or misrepresentations — but cool and temperate 
argument, supported by facts, must perform the work. 

It has been with pain that we have seen recently the 
heated and angry meetings and discussions, which have 
taken place, amongst our eastern brethren of the Abolition 
and Colonization parties. Though we have certainly 
our own preference on this subject, yet, eschewing the 
papacy, as we do, we are not disposed to set up our 
claims to infallibility in his stead, and always regret 
Avhen we see good brethren take such a stand. That 
the recent movement in Great Britain and the West In- 
dies, coiild take place and leave us unaffected, we never 
supposed — that it must work changes in our system, we 
did then and do still believe, but the danger is in the 
manner in which that change is to brought about. That 
Slavery is a curse, politically and morally, to every state 
where it exists, is a sentiment to whicli the South and 
West respond. And this response is given by the Slave- 



120 MEMOIR OF THE 

holder, with a deeper and more experimental conviction 
in the South than in the East. The great desideratum 
with the reflecting in both sections of the country, is to 
get rid of the evil. Now, starting upon the same premi- 
ses, it is to be regretted that such widely diflferent con- 
clusions should be arrived at, and still more, that angry 
feelings should be elicited in the contest. 

We have read the declaration of the Abolition Conven- 
vention held in Philadelphia, and also of the Lane Semi- 
nary, and felt prepared to adopt, in the main, the abstract 
principles set forth by them. With the means by which 
they declare they will seek the accomplishment of their 
object — the dissemination of light, thereby creating a 
correct public opinion — we are satisfied. But the danger 
is, that the friends of abolition will not strictly adhere to 
these terms, and thereby excite prejudices and bitterness. 
We infer this from the overstrained and highly wrought 
picture that was presented at Lane Seminary by some 
zealous and heated young men, under the temptation that 
it would be popular to make a good speech, and which 
statements have gone the length and breadth of the land. 
Fromthe examination of Thomas C.Brown, a disappointed 
emigrant, in New York, in which he was compelled to 
retract much tbat he had previously detailed to the injury 
of the Colony at Liberia — and from the heated speeches 
of some good men at the late anniversaries in that city. 
When means like these are resorted to, whatever the 
effect may be in tbe East, in the South and West they 
are calculated to recoil, and produce a want of confidence 
in the efforts of good men. Still, we believe that the 
Abolitionists have done good. They have aroused the 
country to more reflection on the subject. They have 
detected defects in thr» managomonl of the Colonization 
Society — and they have, by showing that society that 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 121 

tliey will hereafter be watched with Argus eyes, secured 
the better conduct of its affairs. But why wage a war 
of extermination upon a kindred institution ? Will the 
sending away to the land of their fathers of some hun- 
dreds of manumitted slaves and free persons of colour, 
annually, prevent the rise of public opinion in favour of 
abolition? If it is said that free persons do not wish to 
leave the soil — it is well — let them remain. The Colo- 
nization Society compels no one to go. Admit that our 
laws are unjust in the heavy load of disabilities which 
they impose upon the colored man — and that those are the 
compelling power — the Society did not make the laws, 
but taking the statutes as they were, they provided a 
home where these disabilities were unknown. If it is 
said this Society does not provide an effectual remedy 
for the evil, and hence it is a waste of funds that might 
be better employed Why not permit it to go as far as it 
can ? And what prospect is there that if these funds are 
diverted from their present channel they will flow into 
another that is better? Surely the Abolitionists can 
have no hope that their coffers would be supplied by the 
friends of Colonization in the South and West. 

But we will not extend our remarks. Our object is 
peace and concert in action with every good man, in 
every good work. We are not sensible that we possess 
any prejudices upon the subject. We do not promi.se by 
any means, that we shall not become an Abolitionist, 
strictly, at some future day, and see the necessity of fol- 
lowing the example of oiu- worthy brother Cox, in for- 
saking the Colotiization enterprise, but arguments of suf- 
ficient weight must be laid before us in order to this con- 
summation." 



11 



122 MEMOIR OF THE 



SLAVERY. 

April I6th, 1835. 

" We ask from every professor of Christianity — as 
also from all others — a careful, candid, and praycr/wZ pe- 
rusal of the article on our first page on this subject. It 
is from the pen of one* who is entitled to be heard in the 
case ; inasmuch as having been a slave holder once, he 
has ceased to be such by emancipating all his slaves. 
The main principles, facts and inferences stated by the 
writer, we are so far from questioning that we believe 
them entirely correct. ' How hardly shall they that have 
riches be saved,' said One who perfectly well knew the 
principles by which the human mind operated and was 
operated upon. For the same reason though found in 
the opposite extreme, we may say how hardly shall they 
that are slaves enter into the kingdom of heaven. In 
either case there is nothing which absolutely forbids 
heaven to either class, or which renders it of itself more 
difficult of attainment, yet judging from analogy and from 
the results of experience, we are enabled confidently to 
predict that not ' many wise, not many noble,' and not 
many ignorant slaves, will make their way through the 
difficulties that surround their positions, to a heaven of 
disinterestedness and intelligence. 

While therefore we cordially adopt the main senti- 
ments of our correspondent, and would afTectionately, yet 
urgently, press them upon our Christian readers as a 
reason why they should introduce a thorough change in 
their manner of treating, or rather neglecting, their slaves, 

* The article is signed 'N.' presumed to be from Dr. Nelson. 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 123 

SO far as religious instruction is concerned ; we do not 
believe that this change ought to be immediate and un- 
conditional c?nancipation. We are entirely convinced that 
such a course would be cruel to the slave himself, and 
injurious to the community at large. But something 
must be done and done speedily on this all-important 
subject. While Christians have been slumbering over it, 
the eye of God has not slumbered, nor has his Justice 
been an indifferent spectator of the scene. The groans, 
and sighs, and tears, and blood of the poor slave have 
gone up as a memorial before the throne of Heaven. In 
due time they will descend in awful curses upon this 
land, unless averted by the speedy repentance of us all. 

Look at the manner in which our sister state, Louisi- 
ana, is treating her slaves ! Why, as surely as there is a 
thunderbolt in Heaven and strength in God's right arm 
to launch it, so surely will it strike the authors of such 
cruel oppression. Look, too, at the slave-drivers, who 
go up and down our own streets, lifting their heads and 
moving among us unshamed, unrebuked — as if they had 
not forfeited all claim to the name of max. All abhor 
the traffic, and detest the wretch who pursues it ; why 
then is he not driven from the face of day, and made to 
hide himself in some dark corner, whose murky gloom 
might faintly emblem the savage darkness of his own 
heart ? Why ? simply because public sentiment has 
never been aroused to think on the subject. If the laws 
protect the miscreant who coins his wealth out of the 
heart's blood of his fellow creatures, he can at least be 
crushed beneath the odium of public opinion. 

There is another fact we wish to introduce in this 
place. It is this. Congress, acting only as the organ of 
public opinion, has pronounced the slave trade from the 
coast of Africa piracy. Those engaged in it are punish- 



124 MEMOIR OF THE 

able with death. From a statement given in the Journal 
of Commerce, it appears, that last November there were 
no less than forty eight slave vessels on the African 
coast engaged in this nefarious traffic. It was supposed 
these vessels would carry off at least 20,000 victims — 
victims in every sense of the term, to tyranny, brutality, 
and lust. It also appears that many of these poor 
wretches eventually land in the United States, by way 
of Cuba, and other Spanish Islands. Particularly is it to 
be feared and supposed that many of them are smuggled 
into Louisiana. Now, although the system of domestic 
Slavery is not necessarily connected with this foreign 
piratical trade, yet no one can deny that it tends greatly 
to encourage it. And no one can deny, that if domestic 
Slavery should cease throughout Christendom, the slave 
trade from Africa would cease of course. We mention 
these things as affording strong incidental reasons for 
action among ourselves at home. Above all the rest, the 
same paper states that there is no doubt a slave vessel 
left New York a few days since. 

In this connexion it gives us heart-felt pleasure to in- 
troduce the following extract from the ' Republican' of 
Friday last. The Editors are referring to the Conven- 
tion about to be called for the purpose of amending our 
Constitution. With the sentiments of the extract we 
most cordially concur, and hope the Editors will not fail 
to keep the subject before their readers till the time for 
action shall arrive. And who are the individuals or in- 
dividual, who will make it their business between the 
present time and the time for voting, to arouse and en- 
lighten public sentiment on this great subject ? What a 
glorious opportunity is now offered to such a one — an 
opportunity such as will not be likely again to arise for 
centuries to come — to confer a lasting, an unspeakable 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 125 

benefit upon the citizens of this state, of this republic, 
and upon the cause of universal humanity ! Is it too 
much to ask of Christians, that they will ask the Lord, 
in fervent, importunate prayer, to send such a labourer into 
the field of this state ? We do not want a man from the 
northern or middle states ; we want one who has him- 
self been educated in the midst of Slavery, who has al- 
ways lived in contact with it, who knows, experimental- 
ly, all its evils, and all its diflicullies — one who will not 
lift his head up into the region of abstract speculation, 
and in the loftiness of his pride, in a beautiful theory, dis- 
dain alike to make acquaintance with facts and with com- 
mon sense. To such a man a golden opportunity of 
doing good is offered. We believe the minds of the good 
people of this state are fully prepared to listen to him — 
to give a dispassionate consideration to the facts and 
reasonings he might present connected with the subject 
of Slavery. Public sentiment, amongst us, is already 
moving in this great matter — it now wants to be directed 
in some defined channel, to some definite end. 

Taken all in all, there is not a state in this Union pos- 
sessing superior natural advantages to our own. At pre- 
sent, Slavery, like an incubus, is paralyzing our energies, 
and like a cloud of evil portent, darkening all our pros- 
pects. Let this be removed, and Missouri would at once 
start forward in the race of improvement, with an energy 
and rapidity of movement, that would soon place her in 
the front rank along with the most favoured of her sister 
stales. 

But we stay too long from the extract from the ' Re- 
publican.' 

* We look to the Convention as a happy means of re- 
lieving the state, at some future day, of an evil which is 
destroying all our wholesome energies, and leaving us, 
11* 



126 MEMOIR OF THE 

in morals, in enterprise, and in wealth, behind the neigh- 
bouring states. We mean, of course, the curse of Slavery. 
We are not about to make any attack upon the rights of 
those who at present hold this description of property. 
They ought to be respected to the letter. We only pro- 
pose, that measures shall now be taken for the abolition 
OF SLAVERY, at such distant period of time as may be 
thought expedient, and eventually for ridding the country 
altogether of a coloured population. The plan has been 
adopted in other states, and they hare been effectually 
relieved from the incubus which, even now, is weighing 
us down. With no decided advantage in soil, climate, 
productions, or facilities, the free states have shot far 
ahead of those in which Slavery is tolerated. We need 
go no further than Ohio and Kentucky for an illustration 
of this assertion. For ourselves, if this one principle 
shall be adopted, whatever may be the errors of the Con- 
vention — no matter with how many absurdities the Con- 
stitution may abound, we shall gladly overlook them all. 
To secure so important a benefit, we must set about it at 
once. Now is the time for action. The evil of which 
we are speaking, may be arrested in its incipient stage. 
It is perhaps the last time we shall have an opportunity 
of attempting it. And we call upon all citizens, of what- 
ever rank, sect, or party, to aid in this good and glorious 
work. It is one in which all, laying aside minor contro- 
versies and considerations, may unite, and all may exert 
a favoural)le influence. Let us to the work, then, firmly 
and heartily !' " 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 127 



SLAVERY. 

April 30th, 1835. 

" There can be no doubt that this subject in its various 
bearings will occupy much of the attention of the good 
people of this state, the ensuing season. We take it for 
granted there will be a convention of the people, at the 
time designated by our Legishiiure, (next December,) for 
the purpose of amending our constitution. This Con- 
vention will aflbrd an opportunity for again deciding the 
question whether Missouri shall hereafter be a free, or 
continue a slave state. We look upon this question as 
one of more importance than we have words to express. 
And in its discussion and tinal decision by the Conven- 
tion, we feel how much need there is of mutual forbear- 
ance among all those who shall have a word to say on 
the subject — as well as the exercise of that calm, saga- 
cious, patriotic foresight which looks to the good of the 
whole community, and consults for the good of future as 
of present generations. 

Let an unbiased, intelligent decision of our fellow- 
citizens in the matter be had, and we have no fears of 
the result. We know, very well, that a right decision 
of the case, will, in many instances, have to be made in 
the face of immediate personal interest ; but we look 
with confidence to the intelligence, the good sense, and 
moral justice of our citizens, as fully adequate to the 
crisis. 

Slavery, as it exists among us, admits of being con- 
sidered in a three-fold view — in a civil, a religious, and 
a moral view. Considered in any of these lights, it is 
demonstrably an evil. In every community where it ex- 
ists, it presses like a night-mare on the body politic. Or, 



128 MEMOIR OF THE 

like the vampyre, it slowly and imperceptibly sucks 
away the life-blood of society, leaving it faint and dis- 
heartened to stagger along the road of improvement. 
Look at Virginia — that noble commonweaUh, the mother 
of states and great men — how strikingly docs her pre- 
sent condition illustrate the truth of this sentiment I 

The evils of Slavery in a moral and religious point of 
view, need not be told ; they are seen, and palpable, by 
all. It becomes us as a Christian people, as those who 
believe in the future retribution of a righteous Providence, 
to remove from our midst an institution, no less the cause 
of moral corruption to the master than to the slave. It 
surely cannot be thought wrong, to press such a notion 
as this upon the consideration of our fellow-citizens. 

Gradual emancipation is the remedy we propose. This 
we look upon as the only feasible, and indeed, the only 
desirable way of effecting our release from the thraldom 
in which we are held. In the mean time, the rights of 
all classes of our citizens should be respected, and the 
work be proposed, carried on, and finished, as one in 
which all classes of our citizens are alike interested, and 
in which all may alike be called upon to make sacrifices 
of individual interests to the general welfare of the com- 
munity. 

There is, however, another matter — and we mention 
it here, lest our silence may be misinterpreted — con- 
nected with this subject, which admits, nay, demands a 
very different mode of treatment. We mean the man- 
ner in which the relations subsisting between Christians 
and their slaves are fulfilled. Here the reform ought to 
be thorough and immediate. There is no possible plea 
which can aflbrd excuse for a moment's delay. On this 
point, we expect to have much to say ; and we hope our 
readers will bear in mind — and ilius save themselves 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOV. 129 

from confounding our arguments on the two points — that 
while on the general subject of Slavery we are decidedly 
gradual, on this part of it we are as decidedly immediate 
Abolitionists. It is fearfully true that many professed 
Christians habitually treat their slaves as though they 
had no immortal souls, and it is high time such a prac- 
tice as this were abolished.''^ 



LETTER FROM THE EDITOR. 

Mississippi Ricrr, May, 2\st, 1835. 

" We have just swung from our moorings, and are going 
up to the upper part of the town, to take in some passen- 
gers. What glorious prospects are opening before the 
city of St. Louis ! The time cannot be far distant when 
it will be enthroned, without a rival, the Queen of the 
West. Already, Front Street is, I should think, more- 
than a mile in length. Seventeen Steamboats, among 
which were the mammouth Mogul, and the unfortunate 
Majestic, line its shores this morning. The whole quay 
is covered with merchandize and alive with the bustle of 
business. One boat was discharging freight, another 
was receiving it ; here was one with her flag floating in 
the wind, indicating that she was soon to depart, and 
there another whose bell was calling all on board, who 
did not choose to be left behind — here was one blowing 
ofl', and there another raising her steam. Altogether, the 
scene was a most animated and animating one. 

One thing depressed my spirits. It was the moral con- 
dition of a large portion of those whom I saw. As I 
passed up and down the quay, among the busy, hurr\'- 
ing m\dtitude, the drunkeries and drinking I witnessed, 
the oaths and the obscene blasphemies 1 heard, caused 



130 MEMOIR OF THE 

my spirits to sink within me. I felt assured, too, that 
Christians in St. Louis, were not doing enough — are 
they doing any thing?— for the boatmen in our harbour. 
I fear these last may truly say, ' No man careth for our 
souls.' 

As we rounded to, and approached the shore of our 
sister state, a little below the city, we saw several little 
children at play upon the river's bank. Some one in the 
company remarked, ' That is a land of liberty !' Now 
the subject of slavery had not been mentioned, and the 
fact that such a thought was suggested by the very sight 
of the soil of Illinois, shows that the atmosphere of sla- 
very is an unnatural one for Americans to live in. The 
institution is repugnant to the very first principles of lib- 
erty. The remark was the more worthy of notice as 
coming from one who has for many years, even from 
infancy, resided in a slave state, and who is the owner of 
slaves ? I envy not the prosperity of our sister state, 
Illinois : I rejoice in it the rather, and look forward with 
delight to the period, and that not far distant, when the 
busy hum of industry shall be heard over all her prai- 
ries, while schools, colleges, and religious temples, shall 
adorn and strengthen the institutions of two millions 
of freemen. Yet when contemplating this glorious and 
exciting spectacle, I cannot help saying, with a half sup- 
pressed sigh of despondency, ' Oh ! that Missouri, my 
own beloved state, were in a condition to compete for the 
prize of such renown ?' And why may she not ? What 
nobler race of men exists in this wide world, than those 
who have followed Daniel Boone from the blood-bought 
fields of Kentucky, and pitched their tabernacles in 
Missouri ? Alas ! the single word SLAVERY, tells us 
why. So long as that remains amongst us, we may long 
for those improvements in art, science, and the habits of 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 131 

social life, which mark a rapidly advancing community, 
but they can never be ours. These are the rewards of 
well-directed industry alone. 

I look forward to the approaching Convention in our 
state with more solicitude than I have words to express. 
It does seem to me a crisis that calls for the exercise of 
all the candor, enlarged patriotism, and sound judgment 
of all our citizens. We have it in our power to bequeath 
to posterity a benefit, for which all future generations 
shall bless us, or we may put back the hopes of human- 
ity, and, instrumentally, the benign purposes of Heaven, 
a whole generation. Fearful responsibility ! And will 
not all those who believe in the efficacy of prayer, and 
who know that God hath in his hands the hearts of all 
men, will ihey not cry day and night to Him, that he 
would graciously be pleased, by his Spirit to move upon 
the mindsof our fellow citizens, inspiring them with right 
sentiments on this infinitely important subject. There 
is power sufficient in the church to accomplish this mat- 
ter, if that power can only be brought to bear. 

The more I think on this subject, the more am I pene- 
trated with a sense of its magnitude. God and man are 
calling to us to be up and doing. Hayti and Southamp- 
ton have written their lesson of warning in lines of blood. 
Virginia has traced hers upon many a ruined and desert- 
ed spot, once the most fertile of all her wide domains, but 
which has long since become as the ' plains of Sodom,' 
beneath tlie withering blight of slavery. The example 
of England is showing us that gradual abolition is safe, 
practicable and expedient. God from on high, and by his 
providence in making slave labour unprofitable, is com- 
manding us to ' break every yoke, and let the oppressed 
go free.' It may not be, that we can slight all these 
warnings, exhortations, and commands, and yet prosper. 



132 MEMOIR OF THE REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 

The physical and moral laws of God must both be in- 
verted first. I could write forever on this subject but 
must close. Our boat is walking the water like a ' thing 
of life.' We are just opposite Herculaneum." 



CHAPTER IX. 



Perhaps no other place is more appropriate in the 
order of events than this, to state that at the age of 
thirty-two he found the Scripture verified — " It is not 
good for man to be alone." On this subject, although 
so important in its consequences, there is every where 
license given to a playful mood in speaking of it. We 
therefore insert his own letter announcing this event to 
his friends. The reader will, of course, make some al- 
lowance for the partiality of a husband — his veto to the 
contrary notwithstanding. 



St. Louis, March 10///, 1835. 
My dearest Mother, 

/ am married. So much for the first sentence, 
Avhich contains the substance of the whole matter. But 
as I suppose you would like to have a few particulars, 
they follow. 

I was married on Wednesday last, the 4th inst. at St. 
Charles, a village about twenty miles distant from this 
place. My wife's maiden name was Celia Ann French 
I thought we made a very respectable couple at the time. 
As for my own personal appearance, you know enough 
of that already. For the lady, I can tell you (she sits at 
my right hand while 1 write,) that she was twenty-one 
years of age last August, is tall, well-shaped, of a light, 
fair complexion, dark flaxen hair, large blue eyes, with 
12 



134 MEMOIR OF THE 

features of a perfect Grecian contour. In short, she is 
very beautiful. This is not a mere expression of a fond 
husband, but just the simple truth. John will tell you 
if you ask him. 

But the best is yet to come. I need not tell you she 
is pious, for I hope you knew I would marry no one who 
was not. She is, I know, intelligent, refined, and of 
agreeal)le manners ; and unless I have entirely mistaken 
her character, she is also sweet-tempered, obliging, kind- 
hearted, industrious, good-humoured, and possessed alike 
of a sound judgment and correct taste. I am sure you 
will not think it the least evidence of these last — at any 
rate, I do not — that she has chosen your son for a hus- 
band. In addition to all this, she loves me, I think, about 
as much as I deserve. I shall now leave you to measure 
that love. 

With such a wife I think I ought to be happy — I am 
sure I am thankful to the Lord who gave her to me. 

Celia sends love to you, and to all her new sisters and 
brothers in Maine. She will expect a letter from sisters 
Sarah, Sibyl, and Elizabeth. 

Pray tell me what is the reason of your long silence 
in Maine ? I have heard nothing for a long time from a 
living soul in all that region. John is well, and so am 
I, and so is my dear wife. I have my hands full of 
business, but the Lord has hitherto sustained me. 
Your most affectionate son, 

ELIJAH P. LOVEJOY. 

Sun and clouds alternate in the horizon whicli sur- 
rounds the earth. We now pass to that period of our 
brother's history, when his trials and persecution com- 
menced, and which terminated only with his death. The 
causes of these will be unfolded in the progress of the 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 135 

narration. In October, 1835, he was absent from St. 
Louis for several weeks. During this time, a great ex- 
citement commenced in that city upon the subject of 
Slavery. The proprietors of the " Observer" became 
alarmed at the threats of a mob, and caused the following 
notice to appear in that paper. 



St. Louis, October 8th, 1835. 
JJj^ " The Editor will be absent two or three weeks, 
in attendance on Presbytery and Synod." 

" Since the Editor left, the Publishers of the Observer 
have received a communication from the Patrons and 
Owners of the property of this paper, advising an entire 
suspension of all controversy upon the exciting subject 
of Slavery. As this course is entirely agreeable to the 
feelings and views of the publishers, nothing upon the 
subject will appear in its columns, during the absence of 
the Editor. Upon his return the communication will bo 
submitted to him, and the future course of the paper 
finally arranged in such a manner, as, we doubt not, will 
be consonant with the wishes of the proprietors. 

The articles upon the subject of Slavery in our paper 
to-day, were prepared by the Editor before his departure, 
and could not have been omitted without great incon- 
venience." 

The mob not being satisfied, and still threatening the 
destruction of the ofTice of the ** Observer," another con- 
cession to the " new code" " of our most respectable 
citizens" soon followed. 



136 MEMOIR OF THE 

,S7. Louis, October 22d, 1835. 
ljj=* " The EJiiur being still absent, wc again issue 
our paper wiiliout much editorial matter. ^Ve hope it 
will not be the case another week." 

TO THE PUBLIC. 

"The Proprietors of the St. Louis 'Observer' having 
heretofore expressed their determination that nothing 
should be advanced in the columns of that paper, calcu- 
lated to keep up the excitement on the Slavery question ; 
and being one and all opposed to the mad schemes of the 
Abolitionists, have heard with astonishment and regret, 
that certain evil disposed persons have threatened vio- 
lence to the ' Observer OfTice.' We call upon all prudent 
men to pause and reflect upon the probable consequences 
of such a step — there is nothing to justify it. And it is 
asking too much of any set of men to stand patiently by 
and see their property destroyed. 

We believe this to be a momentary excitement, arising 
out of the apprehension of the white men who stole 
Major Dougherty's negroes, and who having been dealt 
with according to the new code by several of our most 
respectable citizens, and that they will see that no evil 
arises out of that excitement. 

i The Proprietors of the 
( St. Louis Observer." 

October '2\ St, 1835. 



Wht'lher the last sentence of the above paper, does 
not give full sanction to the " new code,^' which means 
nothing less than mob law, the reader will judge. The 
acts done by this *' new code" " of most respectable citi- 
zens," were, •* two men had been taken up on suspicion of 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOV. 137 

Jiaving decoyed away some negroes, had been brought 
by illegal violence from Illinois ; taken about two miles 
back of the city, and there whipped between one and two 
two hundred lashes, by about sixty of our most wealthy 
and inlhiential citizens. They whipped by taking turns, 
so many lashes a piece. Before whipping, it was put to 
the vote, whether they should whip or hang them, and 
about twenty out of the sixty were given for hanging, 
and among them were some members of the Church." 

*S^ Louis, October 5th, 1835, 
To THE Rev. E. p. Lovejov, Editor of the Ouskrver. 
Sir : The undersigned, friends and supporters 
of the " Observer," beg leave to suggest, that the present 
temper of the times require a change in the manner of 
conducting that print in relation to the subject of domes- 
tic Slavery. 

The public mind is greatly excited, and owing to the 
unjustifiable interference of our northern brethren with 
our social relations, the community are, perhaps, not in 
a situation to endure sound doctrine in relation to this 
subject. Indeed, we have reason to believe, that violence 
is even now meditated against the "Observer Office," and 
we do believe that true policy and the interests of reli- 
gion, require that the discussion of this exciting question 
aliould be at least postponed in this state. 

Although we do not claim the right to prescribe your 
course as an Editor, we hope that the concurring opinions 
of so many persons, having the interests of your paper, 
and of r«"ligion both at heart, may induce you to distrust 
your own judgment, and so far change the character of 
the "Observer," as to pass over in silence every thing con- 
nected with the subject of Slavery ; we would like that 
you announce in your paper, your intention so to do. 
12* 



138 ME310IR OF THE 

We shall be glad to be informed of your determination 
in relation to this matter. 

Respectfullv, your obedient servants, 

ARCHIBALD GAMBLE, 

NATHAN RANNEY, 

WILLIAM S. POTTS, 

JNO. KERR, 

G. W. CALL, 

H. R. GAMBLE, - 

HEZEKIAH KING. 

I concur in the object intended by this communication 
BEVERLY ALLEN. 

I concur in the foregoing. 

J. B. BRANT.* 



The manner in which this communication was disposed 
of, will appear in his address to the public. That some 
parts of that appeal may be understood, it will be proper 
to insert two or three resolutions passed at a meeting of 
the citizens of St. Louis. The first deprecates the inter- 
ference of foreign emissaries on the subject of Slavery. 

2. Resolved, That the right of free discussion and 
freedom of speech exists under the constitution, but that 
being a conventional reservation made by the people in 
their sovereign capacity, does not imply a moral right, 
on the part of the Abolitionists, to freely discuss the 



• Wr find this document endorsed as follows : 

"I did not yirld to the wishes here expressrd, an<l in consrquonrr 
have l)crn pcrsemted evor since. Hut I have kept a good consrirnce in 
the mattrr, and that more than repays me for all I hare suffered, or can 
Buflfer. I have sworn eternal opposition to Slavery, and, by the blcssiiig 
of God, I will never go back. Amen." 

October 24lh, 1837. E. P. L. 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 139 

uestion of Slavery, either orally or throusli the medium 
fthe press, It is the agitation of a question too nearly 
Hied to the vital interests of the slave-holding states to 
dmit of public disputation ; and so far from the fact, that 
le movements of the Abolitionists are constitutional, 
[ley are in the greatest degree seditious, and calculated 
3 incite insurrection and anarchy, and, ultimately, a 
isseverment of our prosperous Union. 

3. Rciolved, That we consider the course pursued by 
he Abolitionists, as one calculated to paralize every so- 
ial tie by which we are now united to our fellow man, 
.nd that, if persisted in, it must eventually be the cause 
»f the disseverment of these United States ; and that the 
loctrine of amalgamation is peculiarly baneful to the in- 
erests and happiness of society. The union of black 
ind white, in a moral point of view, we consider as the 
nost preposterous and impudent doctrine advanced by 
he infatuated Abolitionists — as repugnant to judgment 
md science, as it is degrading to the feelings of all sen- 
sitive minds — as destructive to the intellect of after gene- 
•ations, as the advance of science and literature has con- 
ributed to the improvement of our own. In short, its 
practice would reduce the high intellectual standard of 
:he American mind to a level with the Hottentot, and the 
United States, now second to no nation on earth, would 
in a few years, be what Europe was in the darkest ages. 
4. Resolved, That the sacred writings furnish abun- 
dant evidence of the existence of Slavery from the earliest 
periods. The Patriarchs and Prophets possessed slaves 
— our Saviour recognised the relation between master 
and slave, and deprecated it not : hence, we know that 
he did not condemn that relation ; on the contrary, his 
disciples, in all countries, designated their respective du- 
ties to each other ; 



1 10 MEMOIR OF THE 

Therefore, Resolved, That we consider Slavery as it 
now exists in the United States, as sanctioned by the 
sacred Scriptures.'' 

In the same number of his paper which contained 
these resolutions, and also the doings of another meeting, 
appointing committees of vigilance to lookup all persons 
suspected of Abolitionism, appeared the following appeal. 

TO MY FELLOW CITIZENS. 

November 5th, 1835. 
" Recent well-known occurrences in this city, and 
elsewhere have, in the opinion of some of my friends, as 
well as my own, made it my duty to address myself to 
you personally. And, in so doing, I hope to be pardoned 
for that apparent egotism which, in such an address, is 
more or less unavoidable. I hope also to write in that 
spirit of meekness and humility that becomes a follower 
of the Lamb, and, at the same time, with all that bold- 
ness and sincerity of speech, which should mark the lan- 
guage of a freeman and a Christian minister. It is not 
my design or wish to offend any one, but simply to 
maintain my rights as a republican citizen, free-born, of 
these United States, and to defend, fearlessly, the cause 

of TRUTH AND RIGHTEOUSNESS." 

[Here followed a statement in relation to the '' Eman- 
cipators" and " Human Rights," sent to Jefferson City, 
also his sentiments on the subject of Slavery. These 
have been sufficiently indicated.] 

" Let this statement, fellow-citizens, show you the im- 
propriety and the danger of putting the administration of 
justice into the hands of a mob. I am assured that had 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 141 

I been in the city, at the time when the cliarj^e here re- 
ferred to, was first circulated, 1 should surely have suf- 
fered the penally of the whippiug-post or the tar-barrel, 
if not both ! I understand that a Christian brother was 
one of those who brought the report here from Jetferson 
City, and was among the most active in circulating it, 
and declaring his belief in my criminality. If this meets 
his eye, he is assured that I forgive him with all my 
heart. 

And now, fellow-citizens, having made the above ex- 
planation, for the purpose of undeceiving such of you as 
have honestly supposed me in error ; truth and candor 
require me to add that had 1 desired to send a copy of 
the ' Emancipator' or of any other newspaper to .lefTerson 
City, I should not have taken the pains to box it up. I 
am not aware that any law of my country forbids my 
sending what document I please to a friend or citizen. I 
know, indeed, that mob law has decided otherwise, and 
that it has become fashionable in certain parts of this 
count ry, to break open the Post Oflice, and take from it 
such documents as the mob should decide, ought not to 
pass unhurncd. But I had never imagined there was a 
sufficiency of respectability attached to the proceeding, 
to recommend it for adoption to the good citizens of my 
own state. And grievously and sadly shall I be disap- 
pointed to find it otherwise. 

In fine, I wish it to be distinctly understood that I have 
never, knowingly, to the best of my recollection, sent a 
single copy of the ' Emancipator' or any other Abolition 
publication to a single individual in Missouri, or else- 
where ; while yet I claim the right to send ten thousand 
of them if I choose, to as many of my fellow-citizens. 
Whether I will exercise that right or not, is for me, and 
not for the mob, to decide. The right to send publica- 



142 MEMOIR OF THE 

cations of any sort to slaves, or in any way to communi- 
cate with them, without the express permission of their 
masters, I freely acknowledge that I have not. Nor do 
I wish to have it. It is with the master alone, that I 
would have to do, as one freeman with another ; and who 
shall say me nay ? 

I come now to the proceedings had at the late meet- 
ings of our citizens. And in discussing them I hope not 
to say a single word that shall wound the feelings of a 
single individual concerned. It is with principles I have 
to do, and not with men. And in canvassing them, freely, 
openly, I do but exercise a right secured by the solemn 
sanction of the Constitution, to the humblest citizen of 
this republic — a right that, so long as life lasts, I do not 
expect to relinquish. 

I freely acknowledge the respectability of the citizens 
who composed the meetings referred to. And were the 
questions under consideration, to be decided as mere mat- 
ters of opinion, it would become me, however much I 
might differ from them, to bow in humble silence to the 
decisions of such a body of my fellow-citizens. But I 
cannot surrender my principles, though the whole world 
besides should vote them down — I can make no compro- 
mise between truth and error, even though my life be the 
alternative. 

Of the first resolution passed at the meeting of the 
24th Oct., I have nothing to say, except that I perfectly 
agree with the sentiment, that the citizens of the non- 
sbiveholding states have no right to interfere with the 
domestic relations between master and slave. 

The second resolution, strictly speaking, neither af- 
firms nor denies any thing in reference to the matter in 
hand. No man has a moral right to do any thing im- 
proper. Whciher, therefore, he has the moral right to 



RKV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 143 

discuss the question of Slavery, is a point with which 
human legislation or resolutions have nothing to do. 
The true issue to he decided is, whether he has the civilt 
the political right, to discuss it, or not. And this is a 
mere question of fact. In Russia, in Turkey, in Austria, 
nay, even in France, this right most certainly does not 
exist. But does it exist in Missouri ? We decide this 
question by turning to the Constitution of the State. 
The sixteenth section, article thirteenth, of the Constitu- 
tion of Missouri, reads as follow s : 

' That the free communication of thoughts and opinions 
is one of the invaluable rights of man, and that every 
person may freely speak, write, and print on any sub- 
ject, being responsible for the abuse of that liberty.' 

Here, then, I hnd my warrant for using, as Paul did, 
all freedom of speech. If I abuse that right I freely 
acknowledge myself amenable to the laws. But it is 
said that the right to hold slaves is a constitutional one, 
and therefore not to be called in (juestion. I admit the 
premise, but deny the conclusion. To put a strong case 
by wMy of illustration. The Constitution declares that 
^his shall be a perpetual republic, but has not any citizen 
the figlit to discuss, under that Constitution, the compa- 
rative merits of despotism and liberty ? And if he has 
eloquence and force of argument sufficient, may he not 
persuade us all to crown him our king ? Robert Dale 
Owen came to this city, and Fanny Wright followed him, 
openly proclaiming the doctrine that the institution of 
marriage was a curse to any community, and ought to 
be abolished. It was, undoubtedly, an abominable doc- 
trine, and one which, if acted out, would speedily reduce 
society to the level of barl)arism and the brutes ; yet wlio 
ihought of denying Mr. Owen and his disciple, the per- 



144 MEMOIR OF THE 

feet right of avowing such doctrines, or who thought of 
mobbing them for the exercise of this right? And yet, 
most surely, the institutions of Slavery are not more in- 
terwoven with the structure of our society, than those of 
marriage. 

See the danger, and the natural and inevitable result 
to which the first step here will lead. To-day a public 
meeting declares that you shall not discuss the subject of 
Slavery, in any of its bearings, civil or religious. Right 
or wrong, the press must be silent. To-morrow, another 
meeting decides that it is against the peace of society, 
that the principles of Popery shall be discussed, and the 
edict goes forth to muzzle the press. The next day, it 
is in a similar manner, declared that not a word must be 
said against distilleries, dram shops, or drunkenness. 
And so on to the end of the chapter. The truth is, my 
fellow-citizens, if you give ground a single inch, there is 
no stopping place. I deem it, therefore, my duty to take 
my stand upon the Constitution. Here is firm ground — 
I feel it to be such. And 1 do most respectfully, yet de- 
cidedly, declare to you my fixed determination to main- 
tain this ground. We have slaves, it is true, but / am 
not one. I am a citizen of these United States, a citizen 
of Missouri, free-born ; and having never forfeited the 
inestimable privileges attached to such a condition, I can- 
not consent to surrender them. But while I maintain 
them, I hope to do it with all that meekness and humility 
that become a Christian, and especially a Christian min- 
ister. I am ready, not to fight, but to suffer, and if need 
be, to die for them. Kindred blood to that which flows 
in my veins, flowed freely to water the tree of Christian 
liberty, planted by the Puritans on the rugged soil of New 
England. It flowed as freely on the plains of Lexinii- 
ton, the heights of Bunker Ilill, and fields of Saratoga. 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 145 

And freely, too, shall mine flow, yea, as freely as if it 
were so much water, ere I surrender my right to plead 
the cause of truth and righteousness, before my fellow- 
citizens, and in the face of all their opposers. 

Of the 3d resolution I must be allowed to say, that I 
have never seen the least evidence, whatever, that the 
Abolitionists, with all their errors, have ever desired to 
eflect an amalgamation of the two races, black and white. 
I respectfully ask of the individuals composing the meet- 
ing that adopted this resolution, if they have ever seen 
any such evidence ? They have formally, solemnly and 
oflicially denied it. It is certainly an abhorrent thing 
even in theory, and a thousand limes more so in practice. 
And yet, unless my eyes deceive me as 1 walk the streets 
of our city, there are some among us who venture to 
put it into practice. And in the appointment of the nu- 
merous committees of vigilance, superintendence, (fee, 
methinks that not one of them all was more needed than a- 
Counnittee whose business it should be to ferret out from 
their secret ' chambers of iniquity,' these practical amal- 
gamationists. If He who said to the woman taken in 
adultery, ' Go and sin no more,' had stood in the midst, 
of the meeting at our Court House, I will not say that 
he would there have detected a single amalgamator ; but 
I am sure that if a poor Abolitionist were to be stoned 
in St. Louis for holding this preposterous notion, and the 
same rule were to be applied that our Saviour used in 
the case referred to, there are at least some amongst us 
who could not cast a pebble at the sinner's head. 

What shall 1, what can I, say of the 4th resolution ? 
It was adopted, in a large assemblage of my fellow-citi- 
zens, with but a few dissenting voices. Many of our 
most respectable citizens voted for it — Presbyterians, 
Methodists, Baptists, Episcopalians, Roman Catholics ; 
13 



146 MEMOIR OF THE 

those who believe the Bible is the Word of God and 
those who do not, all united in voting for the resolution 
that the Bible sanctions Slavery as it now exists in the 
United States. If the sentiment had been that the Bible 
sanctions the continuance of the system until proper 
measures can be taken to remove it, I too could adopt it. 
If I have taken my neighbour's property and spent it, 
and afterwards repent of my sin, and wish to restore 
what I had unjustly taken, but have not the means, the 
Bible no longer holds me as a thief, but sanctions my 
withholding the money from my neighbour, until I can, 
by the use of the best means in my power, obtain it and 
restore it. And although, meanwhile, my neighbour in 
consequence of my original crime, may be deprived of 
his rights, and his family made to suffer all the evils of 
poverty and shame, the Bible would still enjoin it upon 
him to let me alone, nay, to forgive me, and even to be 
content in the abject condition to which I had reduced 
him. Even so the Bible now says to our slaves, as it 
said in the days of the Apostles, * Servants, (or slaves) 
obey in all things your masters according to the flesh ; 
not with eye-service, as men-pleasers ; but in singleness 
of heart, fearing God.' But then it also adds, ' Masters, 
give unto your servants that which is just and equal.' 
What is meant by 'just and equal' we may learn from 
the Saviour himself — ' All things whatsoever ye would 
that men should do to you, do ye even so to them : for 
this is the law and the prophets.' Thus far the Bible. 
And it will be seen, that in no case does it sanction, but 
the rather, absolutely forbids, all insurrectionary, all se- 
ditious, all rebellious acts on the part of the slaves. But 
be it remembered, that, with equal decision and authori- 
ty, it says to the master, ' Undo the heavy burden, and 
let the oppressed go free.' If either disobey these in- 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 147 

junctions, then it bids us leave the whole matter with 
that God who declares * Vengeance is mine, I will re- 
pay, saitli the Lord.' 

But I am not at liberty so to understand the resolution. 
From the preamble, and from conversation with several 
who voted for it, I am compelled to understand the meet- 
ing as voting that the Bible — the blessed Saviour, and 
his holy Apostles — sanctions the principle of Slavery — 
the system itself, as such, as it now exists amongst us. 
Fellow-citizens ! 1 mean not to be disrespectful to you, 
but I declare before you all, I have not words to express 
my utter abhorrence of such a sentiment. My soul de- 
tests it, my heart sickens over it ; my judgment, my un- 
derstanding, my conscience, reject it, with loathing and 
horror. What is the system of Slavery * as it now ex- 
ists in the United States ?' It is a system of buying and 
selling immortal beings for the sake of gain ; a system 
which forbids to man and woman the rights of husband 
and wife, sanctioning the dissolution of this tie at the 
mere caprice of another ; a system which tolerates the 
existence of a class of men whose professed business it 
is to go about from house to house, tearing husband and 
wife, parent and child asunder, chaining their victims to- 
gether, and then driving them with a whip, like so many 
mules, to a distant market, there to be disposed of to the 
highest bidder. And then the nameless pollutions, the 
unspeakable abominations, that attend this unfortunate 
class in their cabins. But I spare the details. And this 
is the system sanctioned by the Prince of Mercy and 
Love, by the God of Holiness and Purity ! Oh God ! — 
In the language of one of the Patriarchs to whom the 
meeting in their resolution refer, I say, ' Oh my soul, 
come not thou into their secret, unto their assembly mine 
lionour be not thou united ." 



148 MEMOIR OF THE 

The fifih resolution appoints a Committee of Vigilance 
consisting of seven for each ward, twenty for the sub- 
urbs, and seven for each township in the county — in all 
EIGHTY THREE persous — whosc duty it shall be to report 
to the Mayor or the other civil authorities, all persons 
suspected of preaching abolition doctrines, &c.,and should 
the civil authorities fail to deal with them, on suspicion, 
why then the Committee are to call a meeting of the citi- 
zens and execute their decrees — in other words, to lynch 
the suspected persons. 

Fellow-citizens ; where are we and in what age of the 
world do we live ? Is this the land of Freedom or Des- 
potism ? Is it the ninth or nineteenth century ? Have the 
principles of the Lettres de Cachet, driven from Europe, 
crossed the Atlantic and taken up their abode in Mis- 
souri ? Lewis the XIV. sent men to the Bastile on sus- 
picion ; we, more humane, do but whip them to death, 
or nearly so. But these things cannot last long. A few 
may be made the innocent victims of lawless violence, 
yet be assured there is a moral sense in the Christendom 
of the nineteenth century, that will not long endure such 
odious transactions. A tremendous re-action will take 
place. And remember, I pray you, that as Phalaris was 
the first man roasted in the brazen bull he had construct- 
ed for the tyrant of Sicily, so the inventor of the guillo- 
tin was by no means the last, whose neck had practical 
experience of the keenness of its edge. 

I turn, for a moment, to my fellow-Christians, of all 
Protestant denominations. 

Respected and beloved fathers and brethren. As I 
address myself to you, my heart is full, well-nigh to 
bursting, and my eyes overflow. It is indeed a time of 
trial and rebuke. The enemies of the cross are nume- 
rous and bold, and malignant, in the extreme. From the 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 149 

situation in which the Providence of God has placed me, 
a large portion of their hatred, in this quarter, has con- 
centrated itself on me. You know that, now for nearly 
two years, a constant stream of calumniefe and personal 
abuse of the most viperous kind, has been poured upon 
me, simply because I have been your organ through 
which — I refer now more especially to my Presbyterian 
brethren — you have declared your sentiments. You 
know, also, that I have never, in a single instance, re- 
plied to, or otherwise noticed these attacks. And now 
not only is a fresh attack, of ten-fold virulence, made 
upon my character, but violence is threatened to my per- 
son. Think not that it is because I am an Abolitionist 
that I am so persecuted. They who first started this 
report knew and still know better. In the progress of 
events Slavery has doubtless contributed its share, though 
a very small one, to the bitterness of hatred with which 
the ' Observer,' and I as connected with it, are regarded. 
But the true cause is the open and decided stand which 
the paper has taken against the encroachments of Popery. 
This is not only my own opinion, but that of others, and 
indeed of nearly or quite all with whom I have conversed 
on the subject, and among the rest, as I learn, of a 
French Catholic. 

I repeat it, then, the real origin of the cr)% * Down 
with the Observer,' is to be looked for in its opposition 
to Popery. The fire that is now blazing and crackling 
through this city, was kindled on Popish altars, and has 
been assiduously blown up by Jesuit breath. And now, 
dear brethren, the question is, shall we flee before it, or 
stay and abide its fury, even though we perish in the 
flames ? For one, I cannot hesitate. The path of duty 
lies plain before me, and I must walk therein, even 
though it lead to the whipping-post, the tar-barrel, or 
13» 



150 MEMOIR OF THE 

even the stake. I was bold and dauntless in the service 
of sin ; it is not fitting that I should be less so in the 
service of my Redeemer. He sought me out when there 
was none to help ; when I was fast sinking to eternal 
ruin, he raised me up and placed me on the Rock of 
Ages ; and now shall I forsake him when he has so few 
friends and so many enemies in St, Louis ? I cannot, I 
dare not, and. His grace sustaining me, / will not. 

Some of you I know are with me in feeling, in sym- 
pathy, and in prayer. And this knowledge is, indeed, a 
cordial to my heart. We have wept and prayed together 
in the midst of our present afflictions, and we have risen 
from our knees, refreshed and cheered by a sense of 
God's presence and his approving smile. And indeed, 
but for this, — but that I have felt the upholding hand of 
God supporting me, I had long since fallen. ' I had 
fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the 
Lord in the land of the living.' And the heaviest blows 
have been those which I have received from the hands 
of some of my brethren. May the Lord forgive them, as 
freely and heartily as 1 do. 

But Oh, my brethren, what shall I say to those of you 
who recorded your votes in favour of the resolution that 
the Bible sanctions Slavery ? It is not for me to reproach 
you ; nor have I the least disposition to utter one unkind 
word. I only wish that I could make you sensible of 
the feelings I experienced when I first read that resolu- 
tion as sanctioned by you. It did seem to me as though 
I could perceive a holy horror thrilling through all heaven, 
at such a perversion of the principles of the gospel of 
the Son of God. Oh, my brethren, may I not entreat 
you to pray over this subject, to ask for the wisdom of 
heaven to lead you into the truth ? Depend upon it, you 
are wrong, fearfully wrong. Not for all the diadems of 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 151 

all the stars of heaven, though each were a world like 
this, would I have such a vote, unrepented of, to answer 
for at the bar of God, my Judge. 

Oh, were the Church united at such a crisis as this, 
what a triumph we might achieve ! But it never can be 
united, until you come over to us. Did you ever hear of 
a Christian, once holding the contrary doctrine, giving it 
up for yours ? Never, I venture to say it, unless at the 
same time he gave up his Christianity with it. But there 
are instances, daily, of conversions from your side to 
ours. Come over then, brethren — Oh, come over. Let 
us unitedly take our stand upon the principles of truth 
and RIGHTEOUSNESS. Standing by them we cannot be 
moved. Even the Heathen could say of the just man, 
that he would remain undismayed though tlie heavens 
should fall around him. How much more, then, may it 
be said of the Christian ? In the midst of every assault, 
when foes are gathered around him on every side, in the 
calm, yet exulting contidence of faith, he can look up- 
ward and exclaim — ' The Lord is my light and my sal- 
vation ; whom shall I fear ? the Lord is the strength of 
my life ; of whom shall I be afraid V 

A few words more, and I have done. 

Fellow-citizens of St. Louis, above, you have my sen- 
ments, fully and freely expressed, on the great subjects 
now agitating the public mind. Are they such as render 
me unworthy of that protection which regulated Society 
accords to the humblest of its members ? Let me ask 
you, why is it that this storm of persecution is directed 
against me ? What have I done ? Have I libelled any 
man's person or character ? No. Have I been found 
in gamblinjT-houses, billiard-rooms, or tippling-shops ? 
Never. Have I ever disturbed the peace and quiet of 
your city by midnight revellings, or riots in the streets ? 



152 MEMOIR OF THE 

It is not pretended. Have I ever, by word or deed, di- 
rectly or indirectly, attempted or designed to incite your 
slarv^es to insubordination ? God forbid. I would as 
soon be guilty of arson and murder. And here you must 
permit me to say that the conduct of those who so 
fiercely accuse me here, strongly reminds me of the 
scene which took place between Ahab and the prophet 
Elijah. You remember that in a time of great drouth, 
which Elijah had predicted, and which God sent upon 
the land for the wickedness of Ahab and Israel, when 
Ahab met Elijah, he said to him, in great wrath, ' Art 
thou he that troubleth Israel V But the prophet boldly, 
and in conscious innocence, replied, ' I have not troubled 
Israel, but thou and thy father's house,' &c. Elijah did 
not bring the drouth and the famine upon Israel, he sim- 
ply announced what God had determined to do in punish- 
ment of their sins. The drouth would have come, though 
there had been no prophet to announce it. Yet so far as 
he had any personal agency in the matter, he may well be 
supposed to have been actuated by kind motives towards 
Ahab and his countrymen, inasmuch as by forewarning 
them of the evil, he gave them an opportunity to prepare 
for it at least, if not to avert it by a speedy repentance. 
Even so, my fellow-citizens, is it unreasonable and 
unjust to charge upon those who, applying to the case 
the maxims of the Bible, of experience, and history, 
foresee and foretell to you the evil effects of the con- 
tinuance of Slavery, the crime of having introduced those 
very consequences. And here let me say, that in my 
opinion the proceedings of the late meetings in this city, 
and the agitation consequent upon them, have done more 
to disquiet and render uneasy and restless and discon- 
tented, the minds of the slaves, than all that the " Obser- 
ver" could or would have said in an hundred years. 



1 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 153 

I again, therefore, ask you what I have done, that I 
am to be made an object of popular vengeance ? From 
the time that I published the account of the consecration 
of the Cathedral, threats have been constantly coming 
to my ears that I was to be mobbed, and my office torn 
down. Is it to be borne, that a citizen in the peaceable 
exercise of those rights secured to him solemnly by 
charter, is thus to be hunted down and proscribed ? If 
in any thing I have offended against the laws of my 
country, or its constitution, I stand ready to answer. If 
I have not, then I call upon those laws and that consti- 
tution, and those who revere them to protect me. 

I do, therefore, as an American citizen, and Christian 
patriot, and in the name of Liberty, and Law, and Re- 
ligion, solemnly protest against all these attempts, 
howsoever or by whomsoever made, to frown down the 
liberty of the press, and forbid the free expression of 
opinion. Under a deep sense of my obligations to my 
country, the church, and my God, I declare it to be my 
fixed purpose to submit to no such dictation. And I am 
prepared to abide the consequences. I have appealed to 
the constitution and laws of my country ; if they fail to 
protect me, I appeal to God, and with Him I cheerfully 
rest my cause. 

Fellow-citizens, they told me that if I returned to the 
city, from my late absence, you would surely lay violent 
hands upon me, and many of my friends besought me not 
to come. I disregarded their advice, because I plainly 
saw, or thought I saw, that the Lord would have me 
come. And up to this moment that conviction of duty 
has continued to strengthen, until now I have not a 
shadow of doubt that I did right. I have appeared openly 
among you, in your streets and market-places, and now 



154 MEiMOIR OF THE REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 

I openly and publicly throw myself into your hands. I 
can die at my post, but I cannot desert it. 

I have one request to make, and but one. The origi- 
nal proprietors of the ' Observer,' have, as you know, 
disclaimed all responsibility in its publication. So far 
as depends upon them, nothing would appear in the pa- 
per on the subject of Slavery. I am sure, therefore, that 
you will see the propriety of refraining from any act 
which would inflict injury upon them, either in person 
or property. I alone am answerable and responsible for 
all that appears in the paper, except when absent from 
the city, A part of the office also belongs to the young 
men who print the paper : and they are in no way respon- 
sible for the matter appearing in its columns. For the 
sake of both these parties I do, therefore, earnestly en- 
treat you, that whatever may be done to me, the property 
of the office may be left undisturbed. If the popular 
vengeance needs a victim, I offer myself a willing sacri- 
fice. To any assault that may be made upon me, I de- 
clare it my purpose to make no resistance. There is, I 
confess, one string tugging at my heart, that sometimes 
wakes it to mortal agony. And yet I cannot, dare not, 
yield to its influence. For my Master has said, * If any 
man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and 
WIFE, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and 
his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.' 

Humbly entreating all whom I have injured, whether 
intentionally or otherwise, to forgive me ; in charity with 
all men ; freely forgiving my enemies, even those who 
thirst for my blood, and with the blest assurance, that in 
life or death nothing can separate me from my Redeemer, 
1 bubscribe myself, 

Your fellow-citizen, 

ELIJAH P. LOVEJOY." 



CHAPTER X. 

It ^vill be proper here to insert several letters which 
show the workings of his spirit in secret, while he was 
thus breasting the pitiless storm without. 

St. Louis, November 2d, 1835. 
Mv Dear Brother, 

We have just got into the Abolition excitement 
here. For some days past St. Louis has been in an 
" uproar." The immediate cause of the excitement, was 
the abduction of several negroes from a town into Illinois, 
by some persons, it is not certainly known who. How- 
ever, on the strength of suspicion, two men were seized 
by about sixty of our " most respectable'' (so say the 
papers) citizens, taken above three miles back of the 
city, and there whipped, as near as can be ascertained, 
one hundred and fifty or two hundred lashes each. Some 
of the sixty respectable citizens were for hanging them 
up at once, but in this they were overruled. And what 
is more, it is now said, and I suppose correctly, that one 
of the men thus whipped, was, and is, totally innocent ! ! 
They whipped him on suspicion, telling him if he would 
confess they would let him of ; and when the poor fellow 
could endure no longer, he accused himself. 

We have had several public meetings here — the result 
of which you will see in the " Observer." 

I was not in town during the height of the excitement, 
being absent as I told you. And now that I am here, it 



156 MEMOIR OF THE 

is at the daily peril of my life. I am accused of being 
an Abolitionist, and threatened in the newspapers of the 
city, and throughout the city, as well as various places 
in the state, with violence. / expect it. I expect that I 
shall be Lynched, or tarred and feathered, or it may be, 
hung tip. All are threatened. There is a burning hatred 
on the part of the Popish priests and their minions, which 
would delight to quench itself in my blood. And nothing 
would be more convenient for it, than to execute its pur- 
poses, under the mask of opposition to Abolition. I have 
known, for some months, that I was in danger from the 
hand of violence — but the matter is now about to come 
to a crisis. In the " Observer" of Thursday, I shall 
come out, openly, fearlessly, and as I hope, in such a 
manner as becomes a servant of Jesus Christ, when de- 
fending His cause. And whatever may be the conse- 
quences, I think, I trust, that through the grace of God, 
I am prepared to meet them — even unto death itself. My 
friends are trembling, my enemies — numerous and influ- 
ential — are open and fierce in their threats, but I can 
truly say, I never was more calm. I have fasted and 
prayed. I have earnestly sought the path of duty, and 
think, I am assured, that I have found it ; and now I am 
determined that not all the fury of men or devils shall 
drive me from it. Yet you need not be disappointed to 
hear that I have fallen a victim, at least to the lash or the 
tar barrel. If they content themselves with whipping, I 
will not run until I have been whipped as often, at least, 
as Paul was — eight times. 

The abominable resolutions passed at the meeting 
were voted for by professing Christians ! two or three 
Methodists had the courage to say 710 to the fourth and 
fifth and that was all. Thoy were voted for by at least 
two Elders in the Presbvtcrian Church ! 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 157 

And yet my dear brother, I am not an Abolitionist — at 
least not such a one as you are. But I shall be more 
full in the paper. 

Give my love to dear mother, sisters and brother. We 
are all well. My wife is just now at her mother's. My 
best love to Sarah. Tell mother not to be disquieted — 
The Lord reignoth. And let me entreat my brothers 
and sisters to pray for me, that I may pass through this 
" fiery trial," without denying my Lord and Master. 
Your affectionate brother, 

ELIJAH P. LOVEJOY. 



St. Louis, November lOM, 1835. 
Dear Brother, 

Before this reaches you, you will have read 
the " Observer," containing an " appeal" to the public. 
I hasten to inform you, especially that dear Mother may 
not be kept in suspense as to my fate, that I believe the 
result will be for good. I do not think" that I shall be 
mobbed — a re-action has taken place in this city. Unex- 
pected friends have been raised up, and the truth is likely 
to triumph. The original proprietors of the " Observer" 
took it from me, but others rose up and restored it to me. 
The paper will not be published this week, but will be 
resumed the next, and go on. 

I am sure it is doing good or the Devil would not be 
so mad about it.* But I have a hard battle of it. If 
you can do any thing for me in Maine, I hope you will 
do it. 



♦ Some lime after this a plain l)Ut warm friend wrote him — " It does 
seem as though the Dovil knowing his time is short, had come down in 
great wrath to afflict David Nelson, George B. Cheerer, and Elijah P. 
Lovrjoy." — Eds. 

14 



158 MEMOIR OF THE 

I will send you some extra copies of the " Observer," 
which I hope you will circulate. Tell me what you 
think of it, and what the brethren generally think of it. 

I shall lose a good many subscribers here in Missouri, 
but I hope to gain them elsewhere. It is important that 
the paper be kept up here. Thousands read it who will 
not subscribe for it ; and they cannot say of it, that it is 
" foreign interference." 

You see our committees of vigilance, and all that. 
They have whipped two men here, nearly to death, mere- 
ly on suspicion, and not a single paper but the " Obser- 
ver" dares to open its mouth on the subject. 

There was a time when I did expect to be tarred and 
feathered, and probably hung. And I can truly say — 
and I bless God that I can say it — that never in my life 
did I feel so calm, so composed, and tranquil in mind. I 
am sure that I could have gone to the stake, as cheerful 
as I ever went to a bed of rest. But the crisis is now 
over. By the grace of God, I stood firm, and having the 
truth on my side, I was more than a match for my ene- 
mies. Tell mother there is no danger, not the least. 

Good bye. Love to Sarah, to sisters, to Owen, to all. 
The Lord be with you. 

Your aflectionate brother, 

ELIJAH P. LOVEJOY. 



St. Louis, November 23d, 1835. 
Dear Mother, 

Knowing that you will feel anxious to know 
how matters proceed here, in St. Louis, I write to 
you again, by which you may, at least, know that I 
am not yet ku?tg up. Neither have I been tarred and 
feathered, nor yet whipped, nor, indeed, in any way 



REV. E, P. LOVEJOY. 159 

molested bodily ; of slander and falsehood, and malignant 
abuse, I have had abundance. 

We are getting quiet again. The LynchUes are get- 
ting ashamed of their doings. The Papists, the Irish, 
and the pro-slavery Christians finding that I am not to 
be driven nor frightened away, are beginning to feel and 
act a little more reasonably. A large majority of the 
Protestants in the city are decidedly with me. 

I can but hope that the cause of human rights, of 
mercy, and of truth will be advanced in this city and 
state, by the late disturbances here. For this, I am sure 
you will pray. 

Let me state to you one fact. The man who headed 
the whole business of the late public meetings, and who 
was the most active and virulent in his endeavours to 
excite the public mind against me, and stop the " Obser- 
ver," the other night whipped his female negro slave al- 
most to death. Her cries and screams brought a multi- 
tude around his house, and he narrowly escaped having 
his house broken into, and himself made the victim of 
mob violence. I knew that the wicked, sooner or later, 
fall into the pit they have digged for others ; but was 
not this sudden retribution ? And what shall we say of 
those professing Christians, yea, elders in the church, 
who follow in the wake of such a man, to stop the " Ob- 
server" because it advocates the Abolition of Slavery ? 
We have such ciders in St. Louis — four of them in our 
church. The woman was rescued from the monster by 
the constable and taken to jail. His name is Arthur L. 
M'Ginnis, an Irishman, and states' attorney for this dis- 
trict. 

We have another man here, walking our streets in 
open day, who, about a year since, actually whipped his 
negro woman to death. He was tried for the murder, but 



160 MEMOIR OF THE 

as negro evidence was not admitted, he could not be 
convicted, or rather was not. Such men are not mob- 
bed, but he who ventures to say that Slavery is a sin, does 
it at the risk of his life. 

The " Observer" stopped one week, but is going 
again, and like to go ; that is, if the Christian public will 
support it ; if not, it must go down. Wife is well, very 
well for her. She sends her love to you, to sisters, and 
to all. Do let me hear from you soon. 

Affectionately, your son, 

ELIJAH P. LOVEJOY. 

We now insert the main part of a letter written in 
January following, giving a full account of his trials up 
to that time. His letter was nearly all copied by mother, 
and the original sent away, which has not been obtained. 
And, unfortunately, the copy does not give the date, al- 
though it is known to have been written in January. 

St. Louis, January^ 183G 
My dear Brother, 

I have taken a large sheet and expect to fill it ; 
and if you do not read it through, mother, I know, will. 
1 have thought it would be interesting to you to have a 
particular account of those things which have lately 
transpired in this city. One main reason why I write 
these things, is to enable you to join with me, in blessing 
that grace which carried me safely through all my trials. 
I need not say that for some time past the " Observer" 
has been prominent in its attacks on Slavery and Popery. 
In a comininuty like this, where those institutions exer- 
cise so controlling an influence upon society, it is not at 
all to bo wondered at, that a deep and bitter hostility 
should come to be fixed upon the " Observer" and its 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 161 

Editor. This feeling of hostility I knew existed, and it 
only required some plausible occasion to break out. 

The mobs in Boston, Philadelphia, and New York, 
gave them this pretext. During the summer, an elder 
in the First Presbyterian Church was frequently coming 
to me and telling me to beware — that I was in danger — 
that the constant talk was about mobbing me. To this I 
paid no heed, 'i'he first of last September, I went to 
Potosi, a town about sixty miles south-west of this, to 
attend a camp-meeting. On my way back, I heard 
that two men had waited in that village, for half a day, for 
the purpose of tarring and feathering me. Providentially, 
I did not come into town till the next morning, and these 
men, tired of waiting, went home. On my return into 
the city, I found the excitement getting up, and I was 
informed by the elder above mentioned, that a hand-bill 
had been printed, to circulate throughout the city, for the 
purpose of collecting a mob to tear down the office of 
the " Observer." The Missouri x\rgus openly called 
upon the hurrah boys to mob me down. All these things 
did not change the course of the " Observer ;" and under 
these circumstances, I left the last of September, to at- 
tend the meeting of our Presbytery and Synod at Union, 
a place sixty miles west of this. I expected to be ab- 
sent about four or five weeks. We had a most harmo- 
nious session, and a set of resolutions passed on the 
subject of Slavery. They were of my drafting, and 
passed unanimously. From Union we went to Marion, 
to the meeting of the Synod. Here this same St. Louis 
elder appeared fresh from St. Louis, full of excitement 
and alarm, and fuss, about Slavery. The excitement 
was rising in St. Louis, and he had a tliousand frightful 
things to tell the Synod. According to him, we must 
disavow and denounce Abolitionism, and every thing like 
14* 



162 MEMOIR OF THE 

it, or the Presbyterian Church would be destroyed in 
Missouri. We had a warm debate ; a majority of the 
ministers went with me, but the lay members turned the 
scale. Two ministers from New England voted against 
us — a fact as lamentable and discjraceful as it is true. 
Eastern men when they go over constitute the most ultra 
defenders of Slavery. The elder above mentioned, pre- 
vious to his coming up to the Synod, had written an arti- 
cle, published in one of the daily papers of the city, de- 
claring that Slavery had the sanction of the Holy Scrip- 
tures, signed an elder in the Presbyterian Church. 

Reports now came up thick from St. Louis, that they 
were whipping men almost to death, that the whole city 
was in commotion, that no one suspected of Abolitionism 
could live in it. Under these circumstances the Synod 
adjourned, and I started for home, I rode with a good 
brother about half the way — seventy miles. We talked 
the matter over. On the whole, he advised me not to go 
into St. Louis. The same advice was given me by other 
brethren at Marion. I had a wife ; any violence done 
to me, of a serious nature, I feared would destroy her. 
Her health, at all times delicate, was peculiarly so now. 
The brethren told me I had no right to sacrifice her, 
whatever I might do with myself. I was taken exceed- 
ingly ill on the road, but managed to get on to St. 
Charles, a place about twenty miles from St. Louis. 

I found my wife as I had left her, sick in bed — was 
myself detained three days by sickness. By this time I 
had fully made up my mind, that duty and fidelity to my 
Lord and Master required my presence at St. Louis. 
My friends advised me not to go ; all hut wife — she said 
oo, if ynu think duty calls you. 

Accordingly I came into St. Louis. 1 found the com- 
munity in a state of dreadful alarm and excitement. The 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 1G3 

press was fanning the flame — the Jesuits at the bellows, 
blowing it np. The " Observer" had been ninzzlod by 
the original proprietors. A communication had been 
sent me, signed by them, and by my friend Mr. Potts, 
requesting me to say no more on the subject of Slavery. 
I was accused by name, in one of the city papers, of 
being an Abolitionist, in the bitterest manner, and tlie 
public vengeance invoked upon me. The elder of wliom 
I spake, had come back from the Synod, and in an article 
of the same paper, declared, that I was acting contrary to 
the wishes of the Synod, and of the Presbyterian Church, 
in the state. • Tliis was followed by a declaration of the 
editor of that paper, " that they would soon free the church 
of the rotten sheep in it ;" — the very expression used. A 
mob had been raised to tear down the •' Observer Olhce ;" 
but had concluded, after assembling, to defer it a little 
longer. On my arrival, men came to me, and told me I 
could not walk the streets of St. Louis by night or by 
day. Men's hearts were failing them. I was the only 
Protestant minister in the city. The question then 
arose, what must I do ? Earnestly I sought to avoid col- 
lision with the excited and angry community, if that 
might be consistent with faithfulness to God. 

But daily, as I sought counsel at the Throne of Grace, 
my convictions strengthenrd, tliat for me to give way, 
would be a base desertion of duty. I was alone in St. Louis, 
with none but God of whom to ask counsel. But thrice 
blessed be his name ; he did not forsake me. I was ena- 
bled, deliberately and unreservedly, to surrender myself to 
him — thought of mother, of brothers and sisters, and above 
all, of my dearest wife, and felt that I could give them 
all up for Jesus' sake. I think I could have gone to the 
stake and not a nerve have trembled, nor a lip quivered. 
Under the influence of these feelings, I wrote and sent 



164 MEMOIR OF THE 

forth my appeal. The effect was tremendous. I was 
immediately waited upon by the original proprietors, and 
requested to retire from the editorship of the " Obser- 
ver." Even those most friendly, feared, lest in the tem- 
per of the public mind, the step was too bold. It was 
alike unexpected to friend and foe. For two days the 
result seemed altogether doubtful. But then the tide 
begun to turn. Friends began to rally and to increase. 
Men who had never taken the " Observer," even some 
infidels, said the stand taken must be maintained, or our 
liberties were gone. The pressure, which seemed as 
though it would crush me to the earth, began to lighten. 
Light began to break in upon the gloomiest day I have 
ever seen. I cannot think or write about it without my eyes 
filling with tears, to think of the deliverance which God 
wrought by so weak and unworthy an instrument as I am. 
The manner of it was as follows : 

In compliance with the request of the proprietors, 
(they could not compel me to do it ; for I had an absolute 
legal control of the ofiice and materials, for the purpose 
of publishing a religious paper ; yet I felt it my duly not 
to keep them contrary to their wishes,) I gave up, and 
thought my work done in St. Louis. But mark the se- 
quel. I had given my note in the bank for five hundred 
dollars to procure money to pay the workmen. To the 
endorsers of this, I had mortgaged the office to secure 
them. The note had been due, and renewed, and was 
about coming due again. Of course when they took the 
office, they had to take the note with it. The proprie- 
tors met, and requested Mr. Moore, (the name on the 
note,) givino; him a written request to that offrcf, to take 
possession of the office, break it up, and pay himself and 
the other endorsers, and they would be satisfied. He at 
once utterly refused to sell it at auction, whereupon they 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 1G5 

authorized him to take it and pay himself the five hun- 
dred dollars any way he chose. Upon this he took his 
departure, came to the office, and took possession of it ; 
and immediately turned round to me, and offered it to me 
again, saying, that rather than the " Observer" should 
stop, he would pay the note himself. Nothing could 
have been more unexpected to me. It was as life from 
the dead, as light out of thickest darkness. 

He, however, required that I should remove the paper 
to Alton, in the other state — thinking, that such was the 
excitement against me, that I could not possibly stay. I 
started the next day for Alton, — found the brethren there 
ready to receive me with open arms. But while I was 
making my arrangements, a letter arrived from St. Louis, 
from Mr. INIoore and others, adjuring me by all means to 
come back. 

Thus far the letter. He did accordingly return, and 
went on publishing the " Observer." In closing the ac- 
count of this important period in his history, it will be 
proper to insert a letter addressed to one of the proprie- 
tors, at the time of the excitement and difficulties in No- 
vember. 

ARCHIBALD GAMBLE, Esq. 

St. Louis, November 27th, 1835. 
Dear Brother, 

In taking a course to which I was impelled by 
a sense of dutv, I was fully aware that I was making 
myself liable to suffer the pains and penalties of much 
misrepresentation and abuse. And I had fully made up 
my mind to make no reply, whatever, to all that might 
be said of this nature, so long as it did not affect my 
character for veracity as a man and a Christian minister. 



166 MEMOIR OF THE 

But an article in the last " Missouri Argus," signed 
" A Presbyterian," does both. I therefore take the 
liberty of enclosing it to you, and of respectfully asking 
your reply to the following questions : 

1. When I became the Editor of the " St Louis Ob- 
server," did not the original proprietors, (youself being 
one,) execute to me a legal instrument, whereby I be- 
came possessed of the whole, as completely, as though I 
had bought the materials with my own money, with the 
single proviso that I was not to alienate them from the 
business of publishing a religious newspaper, (but for 
this purpose I had the power of mortgaging them,) as 
also that when the nett profits of the office should amount 
to five hundred dollars, per annimi, then I was to pay the 
surplus, (if any,) to the original purchasers, until they 
had received the original purchase money back, when 
the office was to be wholly mine ? 

2. Was there in this original agreement any right 
whatever reserved to the original proprietors, (one of 
whom drew up the article,) of controlling the editorial 
course of the " Observer ?" And on the contrary, is 
there not, in the article an express disclaimer, on the 
part of the original proprietors, of all responsibilities or 
liabilities, as connected with the " Observer Office ?" 

3. Did not an article appear in the " Observer," in the 
absence of the Editor, signed " The Proprietors," ex- 
pressly saying that nothing more on the subject of 
Slavery should appear in the columns of the " Observer ?" 

4. After lh6 publication of my appeal to my fellow- 
citizens, when called upon by yourself and brother Ilez- 
ekiah King, in behalf of the original proprietors, and re- 
quested, (it gives me pleasure to say in the kindest man- 
ner.) to retire from the Editorial duties of the " Observer," 
did 1 not unliesifatintjly reply, th:it, tliou'di T certainly 



KKV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 1G7 

ould with legal, and perhaps moral justice, hold the 
Observer Office," yet I would not do it, a single day, 
gainst tlie wishes of the original proprietors ; and did I 
ot promptly surrender into your liands, (where it now 
},) the legal instrument by which I held the Office ? 

5. When a proposition was made to me by yourself 
nd brother King, tliat the materials of the " Observer 
)fll(c'" should be sold me, for a certain sum, provided I 
rould obligate myself not to publish a paper in St. I^ouis 
ounty, did I not unhesitatingly, and at once, reject the 
roposition, saying I certainly would bind myself by no 
uch pledge ? 

In line, will you please to state, if in any of the trans- 
ctions between yourself and brother King, as a com- 
littee of the original proprietors, and myself, I said or 
id any thing that you considered reprehensible ? As 
) any transactions between the two gentlemen, mortga- 
ees of the Office, I of course, know nothing. I am 
ure, however, they will slate that I never authorized 
lem to make any stipulations with the original proprie- 
>rs, founded on any promise of mine, that I would rc- 
love the " Observer" from St. Louis. 
Your Christian brother, 

ELIJAH P. LOVEJOY. 

On the back of this letter is found the following en- 
orsement. 

The within letter was addressed to Mr. G. that to- 
;ethcr with his answer, it might be published. He re- 
used to answer it, though l)y so doing, he might have 
reed me from every unkind imputation under which I 
vas then labouring. In the end, however, all proved 
or the best, and I received from a covenant Cod, that 



168 MEMOIR OF THE 

protection which I vainly sought from some of my breth- 
ren. 

I have forgiven brother G. from my heart, and I doubt 
not he has, ere this, sincerely repented of his whole 
course on that eventful occasion. 

ELIJAH P. LOVE JOY. 

February 13///, 1836. 

In July, 1836, as the prospect was, that the paper 
would be better supported at Alton he determined to re- 
move it there. The same paper that announced this de- 
termination, contained also his remarks upon the famous 
charge of Judge Lawless to the Grand Jury. 

The crime of which the Judge speaks in his charge, 
was thus recorded and noticed in the " Observer." 



AWFUL MURDER AND SAVAGE BARBARITY. 

67. Louis, May 5th, 1835. 

The transactions we are about to relate, took place on 
Thursday, a week ago, and even yet we have not re- 
covered from the shock they gave us. Our hand trembles 
as we record the story. The following are the particu- 
lars, as nearly as we have been able to ascertain them 
from the city papers, and from the relation of those, who 
were eye and ear witnesses of the termination of the 
awful scene. 

On the afternoon of Thursday, the 28th ult., an affray be- 
tween two sailors or boatmen took place on the steamboat 
landing. Mr. George Hammond, Deputy Sheriff, and 
Mr. William Mull, Deputy C'onstable, in the discharge 
of their official duty, attempted to arrest the boatmen, for 
a breach of the peace. In so doing they were set upon 



REV. E. P. LOVE JO V. 169 

by a mulatto fellow, by the name of Francis J. M'Intosh, 
who had just arrived in the city, as cook, on board the 
steamboat Flora, from Pittsburgh. In consequence the 
boatmen escaped, and M'Intosh was arrested for his in- 
terfer^ce with the officers. He was carried before 
Patrick Walsh, Esq., a Justice of the Peace, for this 
county, and by him committed to jail, and delivered to 
the same officers to be taken thither. On his way he 
inquired what his punishment would be, and being told 
that it would not be less than five years' imprisonment in 
the State Prison, he immediately broke loose from the 
officers, drew a long knife and made a desperate blow at 
Mr. Mull, but fortunately missed him. Unfortunately, 
however, a second blow, aimed with the same savage 
violence, had better success, and struck Mr. Mull in the 
right side, and wounded him severely. He was then 
seized, by the shoulder, by Mr. Hammond, whereat he 
turned and stabbed him in the neck. The knife struck 
the lower part of the chin and passed deeply into the 
neck, cutting the jugular vein and the larger arteries. 
Mr. H. turned from his murderer, walked about sixty 
steps, fell and expired ! Mr. M. although dangerously 
wounded, was able to pursue the murderer who had fled, 
until his cries alarmed the people in the vicinity. They 
turned out, and without much difficulty secured the blood- 
thirsty wretch and lodged him in jail. 

The bloody deeds of which M'Intosh had been guilty 
soon became known through the city ; and crowds col- 
lected at the spot, where the body of Mr. Hammond lay 
weltering in its blood. The excitement was intense, 
and soon might be heard above the tumult, the voices of a 
few, exhorting the multitude to take summary vengeance. 
The plan and process of proceeding were soon resolved 
on. A mob was immediately organized and went for- 
15 



170 MEMOIR OF THE 

Avard to the jail in search of their victim. The SheriflT, 
Mr. Brotherion, made some attempts to oppose their 
illegal violence. Apprehensive for the fate of his family, 
who occupied a portion of the jail building, he then re- 
tired taking them along with him to a place of safety. 
Another of our fellow-citizens courageously attempted lo 
reason with the angry mob, and to slay them from their 
fearful proceedings. When, however, ' he saw that he 
could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made,' 
being himself threatened with violence, he was compel- 
led to retire from the place and leave the enraged multi- 
tude to do tlieir work. All was done with the utmost 
deliberation and system, and an awful stillness pervaded 
the scene, broken only by the sound of the implements 
employed in demolishing the prison doors. Those who 
have read Scott's description of the Porteus' mob, as 
ffiven in the Iloart of Mid Lothian, will have an accurate 
idea of the manner of proceeding at the jail, on Thursday 
night. All was still ; men spoke to each other in whis- 
pers, but it was a whisper which made the blood curdle 
to hear it, and indicated the awful energy of purpose, with 
which they were bent upon sacrificing the life of their 
intended victim. Armed persons were stationed as guards 
to protect those engaged in breaking down the doors. 

At length between eight and nine o'clock at night, the 
cell of the wretch was reached. Loud shouts of exe- 
cration and triumph rent the air, as he was dragged forth, 
and hurried away to the scene of the burnt-sacrifice ! 
Some seized him by the hair, some by the arms and legs, 
and in this way he was carried to a larjie locust tree, in 
the rear of the town, not far from the jail. lie was then 
chained to the tree with his back against its trunk, and 
facing to the south. The wood, consisting of rails, plank, 
<Sic., was then piled up before him, about as high as his 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOV. 171 

knees, sliavings and a brand were brought, and the fire 
kindled ! 

T^p to this time, as we liave been informed, M'Intosh 
uttered not a word ; but when the fire had seized upon 
its victim, he begged that some one in the crowd would 
shoot him. He then commenced singing a hymn and 
trying to pray. Afterwards he hung his head and suITer- 
ed in silence, until roused by some one saying, that he 
must be already out of his misery. Upon this, though 
^vrapped in flames, and though the fire had obliterated 
the features of humanity, he raised his head, and spoke 
out distinctly, saying, ' No, no ; I feel as much as any 
of you, I hear you all ; shoot me, shoot me.' He was 
burning about twenty minutes, before life became ex- 
tinct. 

But the tale of depravity and wo is not yet all told. 
After the crowd had somewhat dispersed, a rabble of boys 
who had attended to witness the horrid rites, commenced 
amusing themselves by throwing stones at the black and 
disfigured corpse, as it stood chained to the tree. The 
object was to see who should first succeed in breaking 
the skull ! 

Such, according to the best information we have been 
able to obtain, is a faithful description of the scene, that 
has been transacted in our midst. It has given us pain 
to record it ; but in doing so, we feel, deeply feel, that 
we are fulfilling a solemn duty, which as one of its mem- 
bers we owe to this community, and as an American 
citizen to our country at large. Let no one suppose that 
we would lightly say a word, in derogation of the charac- 
ter of the city in which we live : on the contrary we 
have, as is natural, a strong desire to sustain and vindi- 
cate its reputation. But when constitutional law and or- 
der are at stake, when the question lies between justice 



172 MEMOIR OF THE 

regularly administered or the wild vengeance of a mob, 
then there is but one side on which the patriot and the 
Christian can rally ; but one course for them to pursue. 

We have drawn the above gloomy and hideous picture, 
not for the purpose of holding it up as a fair representa- 
tion of the moral condition of St. Louis — for we loudly 
protest against any such conclusion, and we call upon 
our fellow-citizens to join us in such protest — but that the 
immediate actors in the horrid tragedy, may see the work 
of their hands, and shrink in horror from a repetition of 
it, and in humble penitence seek forgiveness of that 
comnnmity, whose laws they have so outraged, and of 
that God whose image they have, without his permis- 
sion, wickedly defaced ; and that we may all see, (and 
be warned in time,) the legitimate result of the spirit of 
mohism, and whither, unless arrested in its first out- 
breakings, it is sure to carry us. In Charlestown it burns 
a Convent over the head of defenceless women ; in 
Baltimore it desecrates the Sabbath, and works all that 
day in demolishing a private citizen's house ; in Vicks- 
burg it hangs up gamblers, three or four in a row ; and 
in St. Louis it forces a man — a hardened wretch cer- 
tainly, and one that deserved to die, but not thus to die — 
it forces him from beneath the aegis of our constitution 
and laws, hurries him to the stake and burns him alive I 

It is not yet five years since the first mob, within the 
memory of man, (Ibr tlio French settlers of this city were 
a peaceable people, and their descendants continue so,) 
was organized in St. Louis. They commenced opera- 
tions, by tearing down the brothels of the city ; and the 
good citizens of the place, not aware of the danger, and 
in consideration of the good done, aside from the manner 
of doing it, rather sanctioned the prorcedituf, at least 
they did not condemn it. The next thing was to burn 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 173 

our Governor in cfTigy, because in the discharge of one 
of the most solemn functions belonging to his official 
character, he had not acted in accordance with the pub- 
lic sentiment, of a part, of this community. The next 
achievement was to tear down a gambling-house ; and 
this was done last winter. The next and last we need 
not again repeat. 

And now we make our appeal to the citizens of this 
community, and wherever else our voice can be heard, 
and ask, and ask with the most heart-felt anxiety, is it 
not time to stop ? We know that in a case like the pre- 
sent, it is difficult to withdraw our thouglits and feelings 
from the great provocation to violence, to be found in the 
murderous atrocity of the wretch who has so fearfully 
atoned for his crime. But we do say, and insist, that 
these considerations must not be permitted to enter at all, 
into our reasoning and practice on this point. We must 
stand by the constitution and laws, or all is gone ! 

For ourselves, we do not hesitate to say, that we 
have awful forebodings on this subject. Not of St. Loui^ 
in particular, for the experience of the past year has 
shown, that we are ' not sinners above other' cities — but 
for our whole country. We have, as a nation, violated 
God's Holy Sabbath, profaned his Holy Name, and 
given ourselves up to covctousness, licentiousness, and 
every evil work ; and He in return seems evidently to be 
withdrawing the inlluences of His Spirit from the land, 
and leaving us to be ' filled with our own devices.' And 
the consequences are plainly to be seen. Men and com- 
munities, liilherto peaceable and orderly, are breaking 
over all restraints of law and shame, and deeds are done 
amongst us which show that man is yet a fiend at heart. 

We visited the scene of the burning, on the day fol- 
lowing, about noon. We stood and gazed for a moment 
15* 



171 MEMOIR OF THE 

or two, upon the blackened and mutilated trunk — for that 
was all which remained — of M'Intosh before us, and as 
we turned away, in bitterness of heart, we prayed that 
we might not live. The prayer, and pt-rhrips the feeling 
which dictated it, might be wrong, yet still, after a week's 
reflection, our heart will still repeat it. For so fearful 
are our anticipations of the calamities that are to comr 
upon this nation, (and which unless averted by a speedy 
and thorough repentance, we have no more doubt will 
fall upon us, than we have that a God of Holiness and 
Justice is our Supreme Governor,) that were our work 
done, and were it His will, we would gladly be * taken 
away from the evil to come.' Meantime, let every Chris- 
tian, and especially every Minister of the sanctuary, flee 
to a Throne of Grace, and standing between the porch 
and the altar, weeping, pray — ' Spare thy people. Oh 
Lord, and give not thy heritage to reproach.' " 

In the No. dated July 21st, 1836, is found the fol- 
lowing article. 

THE CHARGE OF JUDGE LAWLESS. 

" The horrid transaction which called forth the doc- 
ument to which we now refer, is fresh in the minds of 
all our readers. A fellow-creature was torn from prison, 
by an infuriated mob, and burned alive in tlie city of St. 
Louis. This deed it became the duty of Judge Lawless 
to bringbefore the constituted authorities of the land, and 
he has done it in the charge to the Grand Jury, now lying 
before us. In this charge the ground is openly taken 
that a crime, which if committed, by one or two, would 
be punishable with death, may be perpetrated by the 
multitude with inipuniiy ! ! ! Says the Judge : 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 175 

'If, on the other hand, the destruction of the murderer 
of Hammond was tlie act, as I have said, of the many — 
of the nnihitude, in tlie ordinary sense of these words — 
not the act of numerable and ascertainable malefactors ; 
but of congregated thousands, seized upon and impelled 
by that mysterious, metaphysical, and almost electric 
frenzy, which, in all ages and nations, has hurried on 
the infuriated multitude to deeds of death and destruc- 
tion — then, I say, act not at all in the matter ; the case 
then transcends your jurisdiction — it is beyond the reach 
of human law !!!!!!!!!!!! ' 

1. In this charge of Judge Lawless we see exemplified 
and illustrated the truth of the doctrine we have, for 
years, been endeavouring to impress on the minds of our 
countrymen, viz. that foreigners educated in the old 
world, never can come to have a proper understanding 
of American constitutional law. Judge Lawless is a 
foreigner — a naturalized one it is true, but still to all in- 
tents and purposes a foreigner — he was educated and 
received his notions of government amidst the turbulent 
agitations of Ireland, and at a period too, when anarchy 
and illegal violence prevailed to a degree unprecedented 
even in the annals of that wretched, and most unhappy 
land. Amidst the lawless and violent proceedings of 
those times Mr. Lawless grew up. lie is next found in 
arras, in the service of France, fighting against the coun- 
try to whom his allegiance was due. Ilis third appear- 
ance in a public capacity, is as Judge in one of the re- 
publican states of America, where he delivers such a 
charge to our Grand Jury, as the one now under our 
consideration. 

We disclaim all wish or intention to wound the feel- 
ings, or injure the personal reputation of Judge Lawless ; 
but we do wish to disarm the monstrous doctrines he has 



170 MhMOlR OF THE 

promulgated from the bench, of tlicir power either as a 
present rule, or a future precedent : and we apprehend 
that wlien the school in which the Judge was educated, 
is known and candidly considered, his notions of practi- 
cal justice, at once so novel to Americans, so absurd and 
so wicked, will have little influence with our sound 
hearted, home educated republicans. 

2. Judge Lawless is a Papist ; and in his Charge we 
see the cloven foot of Jesuitism, peeping out from under 
the veil of almost every paragraph in the Charge. What 
is Jesuitism but another name for the doctrine that princi- 
ples ought to change according to circumstances ? And 
this is the very identical doctrine of the Charge. A hor- 
rid crime must not be punished because, forsooth, it 
would be difficult perhaps to do it. The principles of 
Justice and of constitutional law, must yield to a doubtful 
question of present expediency. Doubtless the Judge is 
not aware whence he derived these notions ; and yet it 
cannot be doubted that they came originally from St. 
Omers, where so many Irish priests are educated. So 
true is it, that Popery in its very essential principles is 
incompatible with regulated, civil or religious liberty. 
Our warning voice on this subject is lifted up in vain ; 
hut some of those who now hear it, will live to mourn 
over their present incredulity and indifference. 

3. In his answer to the remarks of the New York 
American, Judge Lawless intimates that the safety of this 
office is owing to the course he took in this matter. We 
do not believe him ; but if he says true, then what a dis- 
graceful truth to St. Louis ! What had the ' Observer' 
done ? It had told the story of the horrid tragedy 
enacted here in plain, unvarnished terms, just as the af- 
fair occurred. No one pretends that our version of the 
afl^air was incorrect, and we added nothing more than in 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOV. 177 

the spirit of earnest and solemn warning, to entreat our 
fellow-cifizons to stay such proceedings, or their all was 
lost. And for this the Judge says, but for his interposi- 
tion, our oflice would have been destroyed. That is, a 
mob in St. Louis burns a man up, and then citizens tear 
down the ofTice of the press, that dares to reprobate such 
an act. This assertion of the Judge is a gross lii)el upon 
the city, as we verily believe. We have never heard 
of any threats to pull down our oflice, which did not origi- 
nate with his coiDitn/men — mark that. 

But even supposing it true, and that our oflice was en- 
dangered by what wc wrote concerning the M'lntosh 
tragedy, we desire no such volunteers as Judge Lawless, 
"with such principles, to come to our rescue. We reject 
all such. We desire not to be saved at such an expense. 
To establish our institutions of civil and religious liberty, 
to obtain freedom of opinion and of the press, guaranteed 
by constitutional law, cost thousands, yea, tens of thou- 
sands of valuable lives. And let them not be parted 
with, at least, for less than cost. We covet not the loss 
of property nor the honours of martyrdom ; but better, 
far better, that the office of the ' Observer' should be 
scattered in fragments to the four winds of heaven ; yea, 
better that editor, printer, and publishers, should be 
chained to the same tree as M'lntosh, and share his fate, 
than that the doctrines promulgated by Judge Lawless 
from the bench, should become prevalent in this commu- 
nity. For they are subversive of all law, and at once 
open the door for the perpetration, by a congregated mob, 
calling tluMnsolves the people, of every species of vio- 
lence, and rlnt too with perfect impunity. Society is 
resolved into its first elements, and every man must hold 
his property and his life, at the point of the dagger. 

IIa\ing travelled somewhat extensively of late, we have 



178 MEMOIR OF THE 

had opportunity of learning the impression made abroad 
by recent occurrences in this city. And we know that 
the feeling excited by this charge of Judge Lawless, is 
far more unfavourable than that consequent upon the 
burning of M'Intosh. For that, say they, was the act of 
an excited mob, but here is the Judge on his bench, in 
ellect sanctioning it ! ! 

The subject grows upon our hands, but we forbear. 
We again repeat that we have had no wish in all we have 
said, to injure the reputation of Judge Lawless. The 
subject is one altogether too important to allow personal 
feelings to enter into the discussion of it, either one way 
or the other. For all that part of his charge where an 
attempt is made to identify the * Observer' with Aboli- 
tionism, and then charge upon that the M'Intosh tragedy, 
we can only say, that we have not the least doubt, that 
the Judge is perfectly sincere in the expression of this 
opinion. And the ignorance and prejudice which could 
lead to such an expression of opinion, however censura- 
ble in tlie Judge is still more pitiable in the man. Of 
this part of the charge, Charles Hammond, Esq. of the 
Cincinnati Gazette, says — ' It is as fanatical as the 
highest state of Abolition fanaticism can be.' " 

In the same paper in which these criticisms appeared, 
he gave his reasons for removing to Alton. 

THE OBSERVER— REMOVAL. 

Ju/ifi 2\st, 1836. 
"After miu h deliberation, and a consultation with a 
number of our friends, we have determined hereafter to 
issue the 'Observer' from Alton, Illinois. 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOV. 179 

In talving this step we have not been actuated solely, 
lor even mainly, by personal considerations. Doubtless 
t will be, under all circumstances, more for our personal 
comfort to reside at Alton, but so long as duty seemed to 
■equire our remaining here, we were determined to re- 
nain, at whatever sacrilice of personal comfort, reputa- 
ion, or safety. 

The way now seems opened, in the Providence of 
God, to change the location of the ' Observer,' without 
n the least impairing its usefulness. On the contrary, 
kve believe it will be much more useful under the present 
irrangement than it has been. It will enjoy equal facil- 
ities for circulation in the two states, at Alton, as at St. 
Louis ; and we hope to maintain the same connection 
wiih our subscribers in both the states as formerly. 

'The chief reason, (and without which it would not 
iiave been removed,) for removing to Alton, is, that there 
is no doubt the paper will be better supported there than 
it now is, or is likely to be, remaining in St. Louis. We 
liope this reason will be perfectly satisfactory to all our 
good friends in Missouri, who might otherwise think its 
removal uncalled for." 



CHAPTER XI. 



We now come to his arrival at Alton llie scene of his 
last sufferings and death. The causes of his removal 
have already been given. Speaking of the destruction of 
his press on its arrival at Alton, he thus writes in his pa- 
per of the 8th of September, that being the first number 
issued at that place. 

'• The real facts of the case, as we have before stated, 
are simply these. Contrary to our stipulation with the 
officer of the steamboat which brought it, the press was 
landed here on Sabbath morning, about daylight. We 
declined receiving it on that day. It lay in safety, on 
the bank, through the Sabbath, until two or three o'clock 
on Monday morning, when it was destroyed by five or six 
individuals. And of these much doubt exists, as we 
learn, in the minds of many, as to whether they were 
citizens of Alton or not. If to this we add that a very full 
meeting of the citizens, on the next day after, (July 22d, 
183G,) or rather the same day of the outrage, voluntarily 
and unanimously pledged themselves to make good the 
loss occasioned by the destruction of the press, they 
surely must be ac(iuiltod of all participation, in thought 
or deed, in the disgraceful act.'' 

.At this meeting several resolutions were passed, ex- 
pressing their disapprobation of Abolition, and, as the 



MEMOIR OF THE REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 181 

above extract intimates, condemning in severe language, 
the doings of the mob, and pledging themselves to make 
up for the loss of the press. It was at this meeting that 
the pledge, of which so much has been written, is said 
to have been given. To this we shall have occasion to 
recur hereafter. It shoukl be remembered, that owing to 
sickness, and other "providential hindrances," the " Ob- 
server" was not issued from the middle of July to the 8tli 
of September. During this time, the following letters 
were written, which, with the remarks above, will ex- 
plain themselves. 



Alton, (Illinois,) July 20th, 1836. 
Dear brother Joseph, 

By the Alton Telegraph, which I send you to- 
day, you will learn that I have had the honour of being 
mobbed at last. I have been expecting the catastrophe 
for some time, and now it has come. 

The " Observer" will have informed you of the imme- 
diate cause of the outrage. Because I dared to comment 
upon the charge of Judge Lawless — an article so fraught 
with mischief and falsehood ; the mob, which I chose to 
call his officials, tore down my office. What a comment 
upon the freedom of our institutions ! 

The act was the more mean and dastardly, inasmuch 
as I had previously determined to remove the office of the 
" Observer" to this place, and had made all my arrange- 
ments accordingly, and had so stated in the number of 
the paper issued previous to the act of the mob. 

You w ill also see that on my arrival here, a few mis- 
creants undertook to follow the example of St. Louis, and 
60 demolished what was left of tl^e printing oflice. How- 
ever, they met with but little countenance here. Thus 
16 



182 MEMOIR OF THE 

the whole of the " St. Louis Observer" is destroyed. Not, 
however, until by the influence it has exerted, it has paid 
for itself, as I think. It has kindled up a fire in Mis- 
souri, that will never go out, until Popery and Slavery are 
extinct. And, moreover, I hope its very death will tell 
with effect upon the cause of human rights and religious 
liberty. 

Tell my dear mother, that I am no whit discouraged. 
I feel myself standing on the broad basis of eternal jus- 
tice, and so long as I stand there, full well do I know, 
that all the hosts of hell cannot prevail against me. I 
have found God a very present help in this my time of 
need. He has gloriously fulfilled his promises, and held 
me up, so that I have been astonished at the little efl^ect 
produced upon my feelings by these outrages. But I 
determined when He carried me through last fall, that I 
Avould never again distrust Him. 

Though cast down, I am not destroyed, nor in the least 
discouraged ; and am now busily engaged in endeavour- 
ing to make arrangements for starting the " Observer" 
again. I think 1 shall succeed. I do believe the Lord 
has yet a work for me to do in contending with his ene- 
mies, and the enemies of humanity. I have got the har- 
ness on, and I do not intend to lay it off, except at His 
command. 

What is said in the resolutions at the public meeting 
here about Abolitionism, and all that, is all for eft'ect. I 
told them, and told the truth, that I did not come here to 
establish an Abolition paper, and that in the sense they 
understood it, I was no Abolitionist, but that I was the 
uncompromising enemy of Slavery, and so expected to 
live, and so to die. 

Mv health is irood, and so is .lohn's. My dear wife is 
sick with a fever, but 1 tliink she is recovering. The 
16 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 183 

babe is well. Give my love to all. Tell sister Sarah I 
wish she would write to me. Tell all to write. I am 
so very busy that I can write no more. 
Your affectionate brother, 

ELIJAH P. LOVEJOY." 

Alton, August 3\st, 1836. 
My DEAREST Mother, 

Having a little time now, inasmuch as I am 
unable to do any thing else, I have determined to write 
you a somewhat detailed account of the scenes through 
which I have lately been called to pass. I know you 
M'ill be interested in every detail, though some of them 
might seem too minute for other eyes than your's. 

The account of the mob in St. Louis you have had in 
my letter to Joseph, and in my Extra, received I pre- 
sume before this time, as also of the second edition of it 
enacted at this place. 

A few of the brethren here immediately convened 
after this last event, and it was determined that a new 
printing oihce should be procured without delay from 
Cincinnati. Accordingly I went on to procure it. On 
my way I became quite unwell, owing to the excitement, 
anxiety, and exposure of the week or two previous. By 
the time I reached Cincinnati I was fit only for the bed, 
but I could not prevail with myself to give up. I there- 
fore kept about, finished my business, and started for 
home, with my materials for the office along. On my 
arrival at Louisville I found my illness so increasing 
upon me, that I was compelled to stop ; and took my bed 
with a bilious fever deeply hold of me. I was received 
into the house of Rev. Mr. Banks — formerly from Con- 
necticut — where I was treated with all the tenderness 
and assiduity that could have been bestowed upon a son. 



184 MEMOIR OF THE 

Providentially too 1 fell into the hands of a skilful phy- 
sician, so that at the end of a week I found myself so 
far convalescent, that I ventured to pursue my journey. 
I continued to mend till I reached St. Charles. But 
riding from that place to this — a distance of tu^enty miles 
— and starting early in the morning, which was raw and 
chilly, by the time I arrived I found myself much chilled, 
and feared a relapse. However, such was the pressing 
need of my attention to the business of starting the 
" Observer," that I could not think of giving up. I ac- 
cordingly kept about from Monday — the day I arrived — 
till Wednesday evening last, when I was again driven to 
my bed with a relapse of my fever, attended with cold 
sweats, and alternate chills and fever. I am now better, 
and with prudence hope to regain my health, though still 
very weak. 

Thus you see, my dear mother, that my path through 
this life is not a flowery one. And to add to my diffi- 
culties, both my attacks of illness have come upon me 
in the absence of my dear wife. When I had deter- 
mined to remove from St. Louis, she went to her 
mother's in St. Charles, where she still is. And what 
is worse, she too has been severely sick with very much 
such an attack as mine. Our dear babe thus far, thanks 
to a merciful Providence, remains well. 

Why, when my services are so much needed, I should 
be laid up on a bed of sickness, I cannot tell ; why, 
when God has in his wise and holy providence let loose 
upon me angry, and wicked men. He should also so 
heavily lay his own hand upon me, I cannot see, but he 
can, and I desire to submit without a murmur, I can 
now feel, as I never felt before, the wisdom of Paul'.s 
advice not to marry ; and yet I would not be without the 
consolations, which my dear wife and child afTord me, 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 185 

for all the world. Still I cannot but i'eel that it is harder 
to " fight valiantly" for the truth, when 1 risk not only 
my own comfort, ease, and reputation, and even life, but 
also that of another beloved one. But in this I am greatly 
favoured. My dear wife is a perfect heroine. Though 
of delicate health, she endures allliction more calmly 
than I had supposed possible for a woman to do. Never 
has she by a single word attempted to turn me from the 
scene of warfare and danger — never has she whispered 
a feeling of discontent at the hardships to which she has 
been subjected in consequence of her marriage to me, 
and those have been neither few nor small, and some of 
them peculiarly calculated to wound the sensibiliiy of a 
woman. She has seen me shunned, hated, and reviled, 
by those who were once my dearest friends — she has 
heard the execrations wide and deep upon my head, and 
she has only clung to me the more closely, and more 
devotedly. When I told her that the mob had destroyed 
a considerable part of our furniture along with their other 
depredations, " No matter," said she, " what they have 
destroyed since they have not hurt you." Such is woman ! 
and such is the woman whom God has given me. 

And now do you ask, Are you discouraged ? I an- 
swer promptly, no. I have opened my mouth for the 
dumb, I have plead the cause of the poor and oppressed 
— I have maintained the rights of humanity, and of na- 
ture outraged in the person of my fellow-men around me, 
and I have done it, as is my nature, openly, boldly, and 
in the face of day, and for these things I am brought into 
these straits. For these things I have seen my family 
scattered, my olhce broken up, my furniture — as I was 
moving it to this place — destroyed — have been loaded 
with execrations, had all manner of evil spoken of me 
falsely, and finally had my life threatened, and laid down 
'l6* 



186 MEMOIR OF THE 

at night, weary and sick, with the expectation that I 
might be aroused by the steuhhy step of the assassin. 
This was the case the last night I spent at St. Louis. 
Yet none of these things move me from my purpose ; by 
the grace of God I will not, I will not forsake my princi- 
ples ; and I will maintain, and propagate them with all 
the means He puts into my hands. The cry of the op- 
pressed has entered not only into my ears, but into my 
soul, so that while I live I cannot hold my peace. 

Meanwhile, I must confess, that present prospects 
look somewhat dark. In the midst of so many enemies 
I have, it is true, a good many friends. But the evil is 
that Christians in this^ quarter, even the best of them, 
have become a good deal worldly minded, and are 
greatly engaged in speculation ; so that the work of the 
Lord is left to languish. Insomuch that I find it ex- 
tremely difficult to obtain that aid and assistance needed 
in my very arduous enterprise. Had I means at my 
own command I would not care. 1 should deem them 
well spent even though destroyed by a mob, in main- 
taining the cause I have espoused. But as I have them 
not, such as I have I give freely — my time, my ener- 
gies, the best years of my life, some little ability, and a 
good deal of zeal — these I give, and bless God for the 
opportunity, to so holy a cause. I may not live to see 
its success — I may even die — though most unworthy — 
its victim and its martyr, yet, thai it will ultimately suc- 
ceed, and that too at no distant day, I am as well assured 
as I am that ihci^ is a God in HeuvtMi, wlio sits on a 
Throne of Righteousness. 

Providence permitting, we shall gel out a number of 
the " Obserrer" next week. It will be much enlarged, 
in hopes by that means to induce more to subscribe. 
Tell brother Joseph I wish he and his brother ministers 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 187 

in Maine would try and do something for me. I tliink I 
ought to get considerahle aid from my native state. Mr. 
Adams of Brunswick, told me at the General Assembly, 
that he thought that I was doing more to put down 
Shivery than any other man in the United States. Now 
if half that be true, surely my paper ought to be sup- 
ported. 

But I shall weary you with the reading, as 1 am my- 
self exhausted with the effort of writing this long letter. 
Give my love to sisters S. and E. Why do they not 
write to me ? Surely, surely, they cannot wait for a 
letter from me, when 1 have hardly time, and ability 
even to read my Bible. From Owen I have not heard 
for a long time. I expect him and sister E. out here 
this fall. Are they not coming ? I wish they would 
come. Wife wants Lizzy very much, and I want Owen. 
John enjoys excellent health and spirits, and is im- 
proving very much. Love to brother Joseph, and to all. 
Do write me soon. 

Your most affectionate son, 

ELIJAH P. LOVEJOY. 

After the re-establishment of the Observer at Alton, 
it continued to be issued regularly till the 17th of Au- 
gust, 1837, soon after which it again became the object 
of mob violence. The character of the paper, as it re- 
gards the ability and spirit with which it was conducted, 
mav be learned from the subjoined editorial articles, that 
appeared in it during this lime. 

It may not be out of place, here to state, that the num- 
ber of subscribers to the ** Observer" continued to in- 
crease Irom its arrival at Alton, till it rose from less than 
one to more than two thousand ; and would doubtless, 
within the year, have reached twcniv-fivt' liimilnd. 



188 MEMOIR OF THE 



THE BUBBLE BURST. 

Alton, May 25th, 1837. 

" For the last three or four years the people of this 
nation have been pursuing after wealth, as their chief 
good, with an eagerness unknown before in our his- 
tory. Wealth has been the god after which this nation, 
in the language of Scripture, has gone a whoring. And 
never was idol more devoutly worshipped. It has been 
the supreme object which has occupied our waking 
thoughts, and our dreaming hours. Our ' visions by 
night' have been of rail-roads, canals, bank stock, sec- 
tions and quarter sections of land, and town lots. Specu- 
lation had become a perfect mania, and we had become 
a nation of gamblers. Even the steadiest minds and the 
firmest judgments, were carried away by the rush. We 
know of nothing like it, except the South sea and Mis- 
sissippi schemes of England and France. The former 
was called the ' South Sea Bubble,' and we think that an 
appropriate name for ours would be the ' Town Lot Bub- 
ble.' But the bubble has burst — and all our hopes of 
universal wealth are dissipated into thin air. We find 
ourselves a nation of bankrupts instead of a nation of 
Croesuses. And better it should be the former than the 
latter. 

We say better, not because we rejoice over the wide- 
spread desolation and ruin that have overtaken our citi- 
zens, God forbid that we should do that, but because we 
do sincerely believe that this nation cannot be trusted 
with riches. In the present dilhculties that have come 
upon us, we think we see the interposition of a kind 
Providence in our behalf: and if the blow has been un- 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOV. 189- 

expected and most severe, may it not have been needed, 
in order that we should not, in the season of returning 
prosperity, forget our chastisement ? The evil effects of 
this seemingly bomulless prosperity, which for the last 
three or four years has attended us, uninterrupted, are 
many and various. We can only enumerate two or three 
of the most obvious, and those which alarmed all sober 
observers of the times. 

1. The moral sense of the nation has become awfully 
bkmted and obtuse. The love of money is an earth-born, 
grovelling propensity, and it debases proverbially all 
whom it influences, in the precise proportion as they are 
under its sway. How completely callous to all the dic- 
tates of conscience and humanity, and how shamelessly 
sordid it has rendered this nation, let the history of the 
last two years testify. What have we seen ? That which 
unless our eyes beheld, we could not have believed. 
We have seen the traffic in human beings pursued by 
one portion of our fellow-citizens with an unfeeling and 
gloatingly avaricious eagerness, which would have made 
the early Spanish men-hunters of Cuba blush. Hus- 
bands and wives, and parents and children have been 
torn asunder with an utter recklessness of feeling, that 
equals, to say the least, any thing of cruelty that the an- 
nals of savagedom can furnish, and all to make these 
victims toil and sweat unthanked and unrewarded, in or- 
der to enrich their plunderers. But worse than this, ten- 
fold worse, and a thousand fold more alarming, we have 
seen Christians, not only engaging heart and soul in this 
horrid business, but christian ministers also, nay, rev- 
erend divines, doctors of divinity, whole Presbyteries, 
Synods, and Conferences, solemnly and officially justi- 
fying it, appealing to the Bible — to the gospel of a com- 
passionate Redeemer — to prove it all right. And that it had 



190 MEMOIR OF THE 

the sanction of Heaven. Shall a man believe this, even 
though it be told him ? Posterity will not credit it, and 
yet it is nevertheless the truth, the sad reality. And 
scarcely less, if indeed not greater, has been the guilt, 
the criminal indifference, and often actual approval, with 
which these transactions have been witnessed in the free 
states. Men were either too busy in making money 
themselves, or too desirous to get a share of that earned 
by the forced labour of the poor slave, to hear his groans. 
His tears, mingled with his blood drawn by the whip of 
the merciless taskmaster, fell unheeded to the ground ; 
and what cared they if the soil he tilled were thus en- 
riched, so that they were permitted to share in the profits 
of the crop ? Nothing — absolutely nothing. Nay, they 
not only refused to express disapprobation themselves, 
but whoever did it, incurred their hot displeasure. And 
when the law could not punish those who dared to feel 
for the coloured man, the power of the mob was resorted 
to. Elders of the church in Nashville scourged a brother 
for this crime, ' gentlemen of property and standing' in 
Boston, broke into an assemblage of females, and drove 
them from their knees because they were praying for the 
slave. Christian editors in New York, set on the mob to 
pull down, break up, and destroy the property and mal- 
treat the persons of their fellow-citizens, who had made 
themselves obnoxious by their efforts in behalf of bleed- 
ing humanity. These things are but specimens of what 
has been done in this Christian land for the last two or three 
years, and all to be traced to the auri sacra fames — the ac- 
cursed love of gold, which has grown by what it fed on. 
It could not be expected that such things could long 
endure ; that the Lord would keep silence forever. He 
has spoken. He has come, in his Providence, and taken 
I'rom us that ft)r which we had sacrilied principle, hu- 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 191 

manity, duty, and now we find that we have ' filed our 
consciences' for nothing, and that our only reward is, 
what it deserved to be — remorse. 

2. Another result of our worldly prosperity has been 
an alarming increase of luxury, licentiousness, and im- 
morality of every kind. In our eagerness to grasp the 
bubble wealth, we have over-leaped all the restraints of 
religion and morality, and in our determination to enjoy 
its pleasures, we have disregarded the precepts of the 
gospel. The Sabbath, that blessed institution of heaven, 
given us purposely to be a barrier against the tide of cor- 
ruption, flowing up from the bottomless pit, has been run 
over by our rail-road cars, and mail-stages, and steam- 
boats, until it is pretty much entirely levelled in the dust, 
and the waves of vice and sin are accordingly sweeping 
over us with awful and almost resistless force, threaten- 
ing to bear away, and indeed, in general having already 
done it, whatsoever thing is lovely and of good report 
among us. No hand but God's can roll back these bitter 
waters of perdition ; and whether he will do it must de- 
pend upon the disposition he finds amongst us, to treat 
his hitherto despised ordinances with respect and rever- 
ence. * Thou shalt reverence my Sabbaths.' 

3. The only other evil to which we will now advert, is 
the disastrous influence that has been exerted upon the 
church. This has been in part adverted to, in the pre- 
vious remarks. But it deserves a distinct mention by 
itself. It cannot be denied that the church in this coun- 
try, has to an ahirmiiig degree, been carried away by the 
influences that have been at work all around them. It 
is too true that many have left the work of the Lord, and 
have gone to work to get riches for themselves. Even 
ministers, in many instances, have forsaken the pulpit to 
enter lands, build rail-roads, erect steam-mills, make 



192 MEMOIR OF THE 

towns, &c. The less conscientious and pious Christians 
have done this openly, and without attempt at palliation, 
while the better sort have done it, under the specious 
pretext, with which they doubtless deceived themselves, 
that it was right to give one's self wholly up to the busi- 
ness of making money, provided we make it for the 
Lord. So that either one way or the other, pretty near- 
ly the whole have yielded to the temptation. 

So far as we know there is no ground for mutual re- 
criminations among Christians, touching this thing; but 
there is ground for repentance and mutual confession of 
sin. We are all verily guilty in this matter. 

The experience of the last two years has taught us, 
that the church is not yet sufficiently sanctified, to bear 
uninterrupted prosperity. A year or two more would 
have ruined us all. The present visitation of Providence, 
therefore, though a sharp, was yet a necessary remedy. 
It is the chastisement of a kind Father, who knows us a 
thousand times better than we know ourselves. If we 
humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God, he 
will have mercy ; if we seek him in prayer and repent- 
ance, he will remove from our sky the clouds of his wrath, 
and again lift upon us * the light of his reconciled coun- 
tenance.' And may we all as Christians, and as citizens, 
remember that ' righteousness exalteth a nation, but sin 
is a reproach to any people.' " 

TO THE REV. ASA CUMMINGS, 

OF THE CHRISTIAN' MIRROR. 

A If on, Fchntanj 9th, 1837. 
Dear Ijrother, 

1 choose this personal mode of addressing you, 
because, while a sense of duty will impel me to speak 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 193 

with Christian frankness, I wish scrupulously to avoid 
all occasion of offence ; and this has seemed to me the 
best method of effecting both. You will, I am sure, 
agree with me that the subject about which we differ is 
one of incalculable importance. Two millions and a half 
of our fellow-creatures are groaning in bondage, crushed 
to th« earth, deprived of rights which their Maker gave 
them, and which are in themselves inalienable by any 
conceiveable process except that of crime. 

However men may theorize, and whatever men may 
wish, it is evident that this is a question of tremendous 
practicalimpona,nce ; and in the aspect which it presents 
to the Christian especially, he cannot fail to see enough 
to make him feel that here, at least, is no place for the 
indulgence of the pride of opinion or fondness for a be- 
loved theory. Men may quibble about mere abstractions, 
and resort to all the arts of metaphysical attack and de- 
fence, in order to maintain a favourite position ; but to do 
so when discussing a question like that of American 
Slavery, is little less than impious, and, in my opinion, 
argues a sad want of moral sensibility. The man who 
can deliberately do this, would find no difficulty in imi- 
tating Nero, who fiddled while Rome was burning. I 
have made these remarks, before proceeding to the more 
immediate subject of this communication, because a se- 
rious, candid, and honest state of mind, when we write 
or read on the subject of Slavery, cannot be too higlily 
valued, nor too earnestly prayed for. 

I rome now to the question of " curtailing sermons." 
And how stands this matter ? I suppose you will admit 
that no minister could, at the present time, in any of the 
slave states, preach what is called an " anti-slavery ser- 
mon," witliout being driven from his pulpit. Dr. Nel- 
son attempted it in Missouri, and in consequence, had to 
17 



194 MEMOIR OF THE 

flee for his life from the state, some leading church mem- 
bers being foremost in the persecution. I have lived 
about eight yearfe in a slave state, and, except in one or 
two instances, I do not recollect ever to have heard slave- 
holders, whether in or out of the church, reproved for 
neglecting or abusing their slaves, although, at the same 
time, I have seen the slave sitting out on the carriage 
box, through all the service, while their masters and 
mistresses, whom they drove to church, were worship- 
ping with great devoutness within. I have known church 
members sell all their slaves, at one time, into distant 
captivity, where they were to go beyond the reach of 
Christian instruction, yet never did I hear the pastor re- 
buke the deed. To preach against intemperance and Sab- 
bath breaking, against covetousness and murder, and yet 
to pass over Slavery in silence, is, however you may 
regard it, in my opinion, " shunning to declare the whole 
counsel of God.'' I will give you a case in point. 

Less than 'a year since, I heard in a city of a slave- 
holding state, the pastor of a Presbyterian church preach 
from the text, " It is the price of blood." The speaker 
first adduced several reasons for the command that man 
should not kill his fellow-man, such as that he had no 
right to take away what he could not restore, that it was 
insulting God to deface his image, &;c. After briefly 
laying down these propositions, the main part of the dis- 
course was occupied in showing what was and must be 
the moral character of those occupations, which were ne- 
cessarily pursued at the expense of human life. The 
property acquired in this way, he told us, should legiti- 
mately be called '* the price of blood." He dwelt upon 
this point with a variety and force of illustration and re- 
mark, that was painfully interesting, because painfully 
true. He spoke of the young men that were destroyed 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 195 

in the prime of life, of the families that were beggared, 
and the souls that were ruined, by the distillery and the 
dram shop ; and he told those who made their property 
by this means, that the houses they dwelt in, and the 
fashionable dresses in which their wives and daughters 
appeared in the house of God, were " the price of 
BLOOD !" At this point of the discourse, a deep and 
thrilling interest pervaded the audience — men held their 
breath in expectation of what was coming — and it was 
evident what subject was uppermost in the minds of all ; 
but the speaker closed by saying that other practices and 
other trafficks might be mentioned, whose gains were the 
price of blood, but he should forbear, as he did not think 
it proper or prudent (I forget which was the word) 
to mention them. Now there was not, I presume, a sin- 
gle individual among his audience, that did not under- 
stand the preacher as referring to Slavery, — to the buy- 
ing and selling human beings for the sake of gain. It 
was a topic of general conversation at the time, and some 
of the leading members of the church, were, as I learned, 
a good deal offended at even this distant allusion, by way 
of condemnation, to the source of their unholy gains. 

Now the preacher might have acted wisely, or he 
might not, in thus forbearing to speak of the sin of Sla- 
very. It is a question about which there will probably 
be a difference among good men ; but in either alterna- 
tive, my case is made good, that a minister cannot preach 
the whole truth to a slaveholding church and congrega- 
tion. To dwell eloquently upon the sin of amassing 
money, by making and selling whisky and rum, and, at 
the same time, to pass over in silence the practice of 
amassing it by enslaving and selling human beings, when 
preaching to a congregation guihy of both, looks to me 
very much, comparatively speaking, like enforcing the 



196 MEMOIR OF THE 

" tithes of mint and cummin," while the " weightier mat- 
ters of the law" are forgotten. I have said that there 
will doubtless be a difference of opinion, as to the pro- 
priety of the course pursued on this occasion ; yet one 
thing is doubtless certain, had the preacher done other- 
wise, had he ventured to denounce Slavery as he had de- 
nounced intemperance, he never would have gone into 
that pulpit again. His church would not have endured 
such doctrine, and many of its leading members would 
have been among the first and the loudest to cry, " Cru- 
cify him, crucify him." 

Yet I could not but feel at the time, that were I stand- 
ing in his place, I should have done it, at whatever risk. 
As a minister of the gospel, / should' not have dared to 
do otherwise. Nay, I felt that I would willingly have 
given one year of my life, to have stood on the vantage 
ground which the speaker then occupied, to have had the 
ear of that audience as he had, and then to have poured 
upon their startled consciences, the denunciations of God 
upon those who " oppress the poor and the needy, and 
the stranger within their gates." I would have done it, 
though, in so doing, I had expended my last breath. 

This letter has already extended much farther than I 
at first intended, yet I cannot persuade myself to close it 
without a few additional remarks. It has been, and still 
is, to me a source of great grief, to witness the course 
which you, brother Cummings, together with the editors 
of the Vermont Chronicle, the Boston Recorder, and the 
New York Observer, have pursued on the subject of 
Slavery. These are all brethren whom (though I have not 
the happiness to know them personally) I highly respect. 
Separately, and together, you wield an incalculable moral 
influence, and 1 need not say that your responsibilities are 
correspondingly great. These brethren, will, I am sure. 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 197 

pardon me, if I speak seriously, and in earnest, on this 
subject, for I speak in behalf of more than two millions 
of my fellow-beings, who are not permitted to open 
their mouths to plead their own cause. And I therefore 
tell you plainly, that you seem to me not at all to have 
understood your responsibilities, in relation to the subject 
of Slavery, or else to have trilled with them in a manner 
truly awful. I have seen the Mirror once and again, give 
the subject the go-by, with a dry joke or a half-concealed 
sarcasm, which none understand how to use better than 
he ; I have seen the Recorder and the Chronicle, with 
column after column of their pages occupied by their 
acute and logical-minded editors, in reasoning coldly 
about sin and Slavery in the abstract, when the living and 
awful reality was before them and around them, dis- 
puting about words and terms, and the precise amount 
of guilt, even to the twentieth part of a scruple, to be at- 
tached to this or that slaveholder, as coolly, and with as 
much indifference, as if no manacled slave stood before 
them, with uplifted hands and streaming eyes, beseech- 
ing them to knock off their galling, soul-corroding chains. 
I have seen the New York Observer publish, week after 
week, and send it to its hundred thousand readers, the 
most partial and injurious representations of the charac- 
ters and motives of those engaged in freeing the slave 
from bondage, while its columns have been hermetically 
sealed to all reply or confutation. And, as I have seen 
these thinffs, I have asked myself, how long, oh ! how 
long, shall these beloved, but mistaken brethren, continue 
to abuse their influence, pervert the truth, and retard the 
salvation of the slave ? 

Dear brother, lay aside your metaphysical spectacles, 
give up your undue attachment to well- worded theories, 
and look at the naked facts. If the wisdom of the schools 
17 



198 MEMOIR OF THE 

cannot teach you the true character of Slavery, come 
with me, and let us interrogate yonder illiterate, untaught 
slave. He is just returning, faint and weary, from the 
toils of the day. He is an aged man, and has had for 
many years, a practical acquaintance with Slavery. Let 
us hear his reply to the question, " What is Slavery ?" 
" It is to have my back subjected to the cowhide or the 
cart whip, at the will or caprice of my master, or any of 
his family. Every child has a right to curse, or kick, or 
cuff the old man. It is to toil all day beneath an almost 
vertical sun, with the bitter certainty always before me, 
that not one cent of what I earn, is, or can be my own. 
It is to depart from my hut every morning, with the sick- 
ening fear, that before I return at night, it will be visited 
by the slave-driving fiend. It is to return at night, and 
jSnd my worst fears realized. My first-born son, denied 
even the poor privilege of bidding his father farewell, is 
on his way, a chained and manacled victim, to a distant 
market, there to be disposed of in shambles, where human 
flesh and sinews are bought and sold. It is to enter my 
cabin, and see my wife or daughter struggling in the lust- 
ful embraces of my master, or some of his white friends, 
without daring to attempt their rescue ; for should I open 
my lips to remonstrate, a hundred lashes would be the 
consequence ; and should I raise my hand to smite the 
brutal wretch, nothing but death could atone for the sacri- 
lege. But above all, to be a slave, is to be denied the privi- 
lege of reading the gospel of the Son of God, to have no 
control over my own children, and, consequently to bo de- 
prived of the power and means of educating them in the 
principles of morality and religion. In one word, it is to 
be degraded from a man to a brute — to become, instead 
of a free moral agent, a thing, a piece of property, and 
to be used as such — to be deprived of all personal and all 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 199 

civil rights — to be shut out from all enjoyment in this 
world, and all hope in the next." 

Such, brother Cummings, is Slavery, not that Slavery 
such as you may imagine or hope might exist, but Slavery 
as it actually now exists in eleven of these United 
States, nay, such as it exists in the church. And now, 
if you, and the brethren referred to, and others whom I 
might name, with these facts before you, resting not oa 
my testimony only, but on that of hundreds of others, can 
deliberately make up your minds to continue to act the 
same parts which hitherto you have done, in relation to 
the present efforts to emancipate the slaves, why so be it. 
I cannot help it. Yet " my soul shall weep in secret 
places" over such an abuse of influence, such a perversion 
of talent, such a desertion from the cause of bleeding hu- 
manity, by those who ought to be foremost and most 
zealous in its defence. You can do, and you are doing, 
much to retard those efforts. But, in so doing, I declare 
to you my deliberate conviction, as I shall answer it at 
His bar, that you are fighting against God. The work I 
believe is his. He has owned it, he has set upon it the 
seal of his approbation, by raising up for it helpers when 
and where least expected. All good men, except, alas ! a 
portion of the church in this country, are with it ; the 
spirit of the age is with it ; the precepts of the gospel 
are all on its side, and he were an infidel to doubt of its 
success. It will succeed, it will triumph, and that much 
sooner, I think, than even its friends, generally anticipate. 
You and I may yet live to have our ears gladdened and 
our hearts thrilled by the notes of that jubilee which shall 
sound from the Potomac to the vSabine, from the Ohio to 
the Gulf of Mexico, proclaiming " liberty to the captives, 
and the opening of the prison to them that are bound." 
Oh, who would forego the privilege of feeling that he had 



200 MEMOIR OF THE 

a right to join in that jubilee ? — that it had been hastened 
in part by his exertions ? 

With much Christian affection, I remain, 
Your brother in the Lord, 

ELIJAH P. LOVEJOY. 

"The Abolitionists are beginning every where to 
throw off the mask, and boldly to advocate amalgama- 
tion ; that is, the intermarriage of whites and blacks ! — 
the union of persons that God by colour, has put asun- 
der, as much as he has separated midnight from noon- 
day !" — Baptist Danjicr. 

" Now, brother of the Banner, stop a moment, and do 
not go off at half charge, as you are somewhat apt to do. 
Let us reason together a moment — only for a moment. 

In the first place, we ask you for the proof of the 
above statement. We deny its truth. We read most of 
the Abolition publications in the land, and we have never 
seen any such position taken by any one of them. Bring 
forward your proof, therefore, or acknowledge yourself 
mistaken, and that you have borne false witness against 
your neighbour. 

But secondly, if God has put the black and white 
races so far asunder, how happens it that they come 
together so readily in the state where you live ? Is not 
the Vice President of these United States, and one of 
your own citizens, an ' amalgamator,' as you phrase it ? 
Are not his ' amalgamated' daughters among you, re- 
spectably married to men of pure Saxon blood — the sons 
of chivalrous Kentucky ? 

Moreover, go out into the streets of Louisville, the city 
of your residence, and where there are no Abolitionists, 
and tell me how many individuals among all the coloured 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOV. 201 

population that throng your streets, you can find whose 
faces shine with the pure gloss of an African complex- 
ion. Such persons are about as scarce in St. Louis as 
black swans are on the Mississippi, and we suspect the 
case is pretty similar in Louisville. 

Now if this amalgamation must go on— certainly the 
taste of those individuals who practically favour it, is 
widely difle'cnt from ours, but you know the old proverb, 
brother, De gustibus, &c. — if, then, it must go on, had it 
not better be so regulated as that it shall, in future, be in 
accordance with the Divine as well as human law, 
rather than, as now, in contravention to both 1 

If, for instance, an individual in Kentucky, like your 
illustrious citizen, the Vice President, should prefer the 
daughters of Ham rather than the daughters of Japhet, 
from whom to choose a wife, why should we who pre- 
fer the latter be restricted to one, while he is allowed a 
dozen, and indeed a whole harem if he please? And 
why, when we are bound to love, cherish, and maintain 
our wives till death, should he be allowed the privilege 
of making * merchandise' of his and their children too, 
just as caprice or avarice may dictate ? 

Will the ' Banner' answer these questions satisfacto- 
rily, if he can, to his own conscience ; and if he cannot, 
* be ashamed and confounded, and never open his mouth 
more' about the ' amalgamation' of Abolitionists V 

" We have great respect for the acumen of brother 
Tracy, of the ' Boston Recorder,' but we do wish for his 
own sake, as well as truth's, that he were somewhat less 
given to the habit of deciding great questions of practical 
duty on metaphysical principles so subtle, that common 
folks need a magnifying glass to discover them. Brother 
T. has quoted Hudibras upon Mr. Phelps ; will he ex- 



202 MEMOIR OF THE 

cuse US if we also remind him that that same impartial 
and pious describer of the good men of his age, tells us 
of one 



wlio could divide 



A hair Hsvixt north and north -west side.' 

And we may well suppose that after this was done, he 
could dispute in learned strain, as to which octagon sec- 
tion of the divided hair was the largest. 

Does not a single glance serve to convince Mr. T. 
that the case he has supposed of the ' relation' com- 
mencing when the man is asleep is no case at all. For 
until the man aw^akes he can sustain no moral relation to 
any thing or any body, any more than the bedstead on 
which he lies. Go to him brother Tracy, and take Mr. 
Phelps along with you, wake the man up, tell him that 
his father has just left him a legacy of fifty human be- 
ings, and ask him what he intends to do in the case ; if 
he say, ' I intend to hold them as mj/ property,^ then Mr. 
Phelps will reply ' in so doing you sin against God ;' and 
if we were there, most promptly would we add our own 
testimony to the same effect." 



CHRISTIAN MIRROR. 

" We do not exactly understand what brother Cum- 
mings means in his paper of the 10th ult. when he talks 
about our compelling him to ' plume his wings,' and take 
his flight from this ' mundane sphere.' Be assured, 
brother, we have no wish to drive you out of the world, 
even if we had the ability. You have a work of re- 
pentance to perform, as it regards your course towards 
your coloured brethren ; and we love you too well to 
wish you to meet them at the bar of Him who is 'no 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 203 

respecter of persons,' until that work is performed. And 
then we want you to live long enough after that to evince 
your sincerity by ' bringing forth fruits meet for repent- 
ance ;' and then we should be sorry to have you depart 
until you had witnessed the blessedness of immediate 
emancipation, and how groundless were all your fears 
respecting it. So that on the whole there seems to be no 
reason why you may not, so far as we are concerned, 
indulge the comfortable hope of attaining to your three 
score years and ten. 

But now to business. You say in regard to the ques- 
tion whether the slaves are better treated at the South 
than in the West, ' Give us authentic testimony, and not 
random statements.' We find it very difficult, brother 
Cummings, to get any statements which you will con- 
sider ' authentic' if they make against your pre-conceived 
notions on the subject. We will make an etlbrt, how- 
ever. But first we must say and repeat, that it is a mat- 
ter of unfeigned astonishment to us, that you should ask 
for evidence on this subject. We should not actually 
have been more surprised, had you seriously demanded 
of us, proof, that the Mississippi river was a larger and 
longer stream than the Santee, or Little Pedec. The 
ignorance here is almost great enough — perhaps quite — 
to be called absurd. 

Your disposal of the ' strait-jacket,' is by no means 
satisfactory, nor is it candid. The phrase is surely pro- 
per enough, supposing it to be rightly applied. We cer- 
tainly used the term ' strait-jacket,' that is the fact, 
but we did not apply them to an ' excellent aged minis- 
ter,' as you said we did, and so said that which was not 
fact. Acknowledge your mi.stake, brother C. 

Mr. Bailey has written a ' supplementary letter,' it 
seems, to explain away the testimony of his Synod, and 



204 MEMOIR OF THE 

you refer us to that. I tell you, brother C. that it is time 
to have done with these tergiversations. I call them 
tergiversations, and so they are, and they are a disgrace to 
any body, much more to a Christian minister. I have 
read Mr. B.'s ' supplementary letter,' and I tell him, and 
I tell you, it is worthy only of a Jesuit. I will spend no 
time in refuting such special pleading, such vile sophis- 
try. Pardon me if I speak plainly. The next thing I 
expect to be called on to prove, is, that negroes have not 
woolly heads in South Carolina, ]\Ir. Bailey's supple- 
mentary letter has sunk him immeasurably in my esti- 
mation. 

I am glad to hear you say that you think Slavery ' too 
desperate to be much longer tolerated by heaven or 
earth.' I never said there was 'not a chaste female in 
the church ;' I said as a general truth there was not, and 
I repeat it." 

THE RIGHT REMEDY. 

March I6th, 1837. 

" We frequently hear from many good brethren there- 
mark, that whatever may be the evils of Slavery, the 
way to remedy them, is 'to preach the gospel.' In 
opposition to efforts made by anti-slavery societies, and 
anti-slavery presses, they say, ' If the gospel will not 
effect it (the abolition of Slavery) we despair of any in- 
strumentality whatever.' 

We would respectfully ask these brethren, what they 
mean by such remarks as these ? We agree with them 
most cordially, that the gospel of the Son of God is the 
remedy for Slavery. But bow ? They certainly will not 
say, that it will prove this remedy as administered by 
those, their ministerial brethren, who maintain that the 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 205 

Bible sanctions Slavery ; makes it right, and places it 
on the same footing in its code of morals, as the domes- 
tic relations of husband and wife, parent and child ? Not 
in such hands will the gospel prove a remedy for the evils 
of Slavery. 

But how much more good can it efiect, when used by 
those who, notwithstanding they admit the remedy to be 
a good one, uniformly decline applying it, for fear of irri- 
tating their patients ? How long will it take the gospel 
to work a cure, if it is never applied to the diseased part ? 
Will these brethren tell us ? They seem to imagine there 
is some magic power about the preaching of the gospel, 
that is to do away with Slavery, while yet the authorized 
and accredited ministers of the gospel, never open their 
lips to declare that Slavery is condemned by it. If they 
do not mean this, we should be glad to know what it is 
they mean, by their constantly repeating ' the gospel is 
the remedy, the gospel is the remedy ;' while yet they 
are as constantly condemning the conduct of those who 
seek to make it the remedy indeed, by proclaiming it to 
be, in all its principles and precepts, opposed to Slavery. 
The Rev. James Douglass, whom we have known, and 
whom we highly ro8pect as a devoted servant of Christ — 
in a communication to the Boston Recorder, which other 
eastern papers are copying, has much of this indefinite' 
ness of view about the gospel proving a remedy for 
Slavery. He would have anti-slavery men, instead of 
persisting in their present efibrts to abolish Slavery, send 
ministers to the south, to ' preach the gospel,' to both 
masters and slaves. For, says he, * where religion 
flourishes, slaves are well treated.' Aye, there's the 
very point. And this, then, is all the gospel as preached 
at the south, is able or expected to effect — i\\Q good treat- 
ment of the slave. Now we wish to aid in the preach- 
18 



206 MEMOIR OF THE 

ing of no 'gospel whose ultimate aim, as it respects the 
slaves, goes no farther than this. The ' gospel of the 
Son of God,' requires not the ' good treatment of the 
black man as a slave, but as a man, and a moral and ac- 
countable being ; and the very first step in this good 
treatment is to set him free. Take an illustration of our 
meaning. 

When the apostle Paul, went out into the Gentile 
world to * preach the gospel,' he found his hearers all 
idolaters. lie moreover found that in the practice of 
this idolatry, the most shameful rites abounded. The 
Heathen of both sexes were accustomed to spend their 
nights in the temples of their idols, in promiscuous, and 
most disgusting licentiousness. Now suppose he had 
commenced preaching the gospel to these polluted idola- 
ters in this way : — ' I will not, Oh men of Athens and 
Corinth, require too much of you at once. I will say 
nothing of the divine honours you pay to Jupiter, and 
Mars, and Mercury, and Venus, and your other innu- 
merable gods and goddesses ; but I do require in the 
name of my Master, that, when you worship these 
deities, and especially the latter, you should do it in a 
little more respectable and decent manner. If you will 
cease these, your midnight orgies in the temples of your 
gods, and prosecute their worship no farther than to offer 
them daily libations, and to prostrate yourselves before 
their images, it is, I think, all the gospel requires of you 
at present. And for the rest, if indeed this be not sudi- 
cient, I leave you to learn it from my successor, Timo- 
thy.' And thus had the apostle Paul understood tlie 
' preaching of the gospel,' as many of his modem suc- 
cessors seem to do, Ghrist would have died, not to abolish 
idolatry, but to * remedy its evils,' and thus make it re- 
spectable ! At least, this could have been the only result 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 207 

for two or three centuries after his departure from the 
world. If it be said that because we cannot abolish 
Slavery at once, that is no good reason why we should 
not rejoice to see, and as far as in us lies, endeavour to 
efi'ect, the amelioration of the condition of slaves as 
slaves, we admit the correctness of the remark. When 
Paul was preaching the gospel to the Gentiles, he would 
undoubtedly be glad to see Uie Heathen quitting their li- 
centious practices, even though they did not go so far as 
to abandon their idols. This was so much good ellect- 
ed ; and so we are glad to see slave-holders treating 
their slaves with kindness, teaching them to read the 
Bible, (which however, they hardly ever do,) sending 
them to the Sabbath school and the church. But what 
we are protesting against, is the idea that the gospel is 
satisfied and its precepts fulfilled, when these things, and 
only these, are done. If you rob a man of ten dollars, 
it is better you should spend the money in disseminating 
copies of the Bible, than of Tom Paine's Age of Reason ; 
but doing the former will no more justify the original 
theft than the latter. The gospel has no method of teach- 
ing the robber how to dispose of the avails of his vio- 
lence, so that he may retain them without sin. It has, 
and can have, but one precept in the case — ' Restore 
what thou hast wickedly taken.' So if the gospel is to 
be preached to the masters of slaves, all it can say is, 
• Restore the slave to hi.mself ; give him back those 
rights which belong to him, as he is ma.\, and which 
cannot be taken away, without robbing both him and his 
God.' " 



208 MKMOIR OF THE 



FAULT-FINDERS. 



August 17, 1837. 

** There is a large class of such men in this world. 
They are exceedingly sagacious in detecting errors in 
otlicr men, but here all their sagacity ends. They never 
attempt any thing themselves, but spend all their ener- 
gies in thwarting the well-meant endeavours of others. 
You never find one of these men harnessed in to assist 
in pulling the ark of the Lord up the hill ; no — they have 
as much as they can do to stand one side, and find fault 
with the way such an one takes hold to pull. He does 
not work to advantage — or else the traces are not made 
of the right material — they will be sure to break before 
you get half way up the hill ; or yonder teamster speaks 
too loud, or uses too sharp a goad — or something else is 
wrong, no matter what. Sometimes you will find them 
hanging on to the wheels at the very steepest places of 
ascent, for no other reason than that they fear (considerate 
souls !) that the machine maij possibly move too fast after 
you have got up the hill in going down on the other side ! 
If you happen to ask any of these fault-finders, what they 
would have done, they never can tell you ; all they can 
say is, ' Do difl'erently from what you are now doing.' 
They can discern the wrong, but not the right. So there 
are certain animals whose instinct can direct them uner- 
ringly to putrid wells, while they can neither discern 
nor love the fountains of pure water that flow near their 
path. 

There is nothing on which these faiilt-finders pride 
themselves more than on the superior equanimity of 
their tempers. They are never provoked to angry, harsh, 
or even inconsiderate expressions — not ihcy ; and hence 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 209 

they argue their own superiorit)^ in judgment, over .those 
whom they are blaming. Now granting this assumption 
(of gentler speech) to be correct, (as to some extent it 
doubtless is,) yet what does it prove ? Any thing but 
what will be found creditable to these self-complacent 
gentlemen. Look at the relative condition of the par- 
ties. The one at their ease, walking backward and for- 
ward at gentle pace, doing nothing but finding fault ; the 
other hard at work, with their heads bare, their 
' shoulders peeled,' and every nerve excited to the ut- 
most, in their eflbrts to ' accomplish as an hireling their 
day.' Is it wonderful, that under such circumstances, the 
working-men should occasionally manifest some impa- 
tience at the ill-timed (to say the least) reproofs and cor- 
rections of these idlers ? We admit, that they ought to 
labour on, and always ' possess their souls in patience ;' 
yet who that knows human nature can wonder that they 
sometimes rebuke these ill-omened idlers in no very 
courteous terms ? And if haply they use a manifestly 
indiscreet term, or make an unwise movement, there is 
food enough for the fault-tinders to chew upon for a long 
time, which they do with evident gust, and rather than it 
should fail them, not content with one masticating pro- 
cess, they ruminate its broken morsels. 

There are two remarkable cases, which may be cited, 
illustrating the above remarks ; and both have occurred 
within the memory of the present generation. The first 
is the Temperance Reformation. So soon as good men 
began to take hold of this work in earnest, just so soon 
the croakers began. Temperance societies were formed, 
sermons were preached, addresses delivered, books and 
tracts written, all for the purpose of arousing the nation 
to a sense of its danger and its guilt, in the matter of 
drunkenness. The fault-finders, many of them excellent 
18» 



210 MEMOIR OF THE 

men, and embracing in their number most of the dignita- 
ries both of church and state, (for when was it known 
that men of this character commenced a work of self-de- 
nying reform ?) immediately began to cry, ' innovation,' 
• fanaticism,' ' ultraism,' Sic, Sic. They found fault 
(doubtless often with reason) with the temper, the spirit, 
the phraseology of the temperance reformers. They and 
all else who made any pretensions to decency were op- 
posed to intemperance, but — and there they hung. 
Well, the friends of temperance, notwithstanding all 
their imperfections, (which were many and manifest,) 
triumphed. And now, no man of common understand- 
ing presumes to call himself the friend of total abstinence, 
who does not unite his name and influence with the 
Temperance Societies. 

The other case to which we have referred, is that of 
Anti-Slavery. We are now in the midst of the develop- 
ments of this great movement. It commenced, like the 
other, not with men in high places, so that in this, as in 
the temperance movejnent, when the glorious result aim- 
ed at shall be accomplished, it will then be seen that it 
was achieved ' not by might, nor by power, but by my 
Spirit, saith the Lord.' And as then, so now, we have 
the wise, the prudent, the cautious, in short, the conserva- 
tives of church and state, to contend with. They are 
at ease, and they do not like to be disturbed ; or they 
have acquired a valuable reputation in former conflicts, 
and they do not like to put it to hazard in this. All such 
would gladly stand neuter in the present great conflict, 
and they caimot bear the idea of being disturbed, and 
compelled to take sides in the contest. Hence, their 
comphicency towards slaveholders, and their anger to- 
wards those who are determined, God helping, that there 
shall be no neutrals in this moral warfare. And hence 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 211 

it is that when such men have been effectually roused, 
the fn-st expression of their feeling is, not of hatred and 
abhorrence to Slavery, but of anger and resentment In- 
ward those who are opposed to this giant sin. This 
continues awhile, till conscience having been awakened 
and commenced doing its work, we soon begin to hear, 
' I am opposed to Slavery as much as any man, but — .' 
But what ? Why, but Garrison is opposed to the observ- 
ance of the Sabbath, and Wright delivers lectures to 
children, and the Misses Grimke have no business to 
lecture in public, (we agree to this,) and Dr. Wardlaw 
hates the Americans, and George Thompson is employed 
by a society of ladies in Glasgow, and the American 
Anti-Slavery Society has seventy agents in the field, &c. 
&c. They have now got to a point where they must 
acknowledge their error, or continue to find fault. Hence 
it is just here that we often see the fault-finders re- 
doubling their zeal and ingenuity, magnifying trifles, and 
converting mistakes into crimes. 

The result, however, cannot be doubtful. All good 
men will come over — those who possess the greatest 
simplicity of Christian character Avill come first, and the 
rest will follow, as the truth reaches the heart. In the 
case of Anti-Slavery as of Temperance, the ' but' will 
be removed ; and all will see that if the work of redeem- 
ing our beloved country from the sin and curse of Slave- 
ry, is not now well-managed, the greater the need why 
they should give their counsels, their prayers, and their 
aid, instead of holding themselves, as now, aloof fur the 
purpose of fault-fix ding." 



CHAPTER XIL 

During the winter and spring of 1836 — 7 no open hos- 
tility was manifested towards the " Observer" or its Edi- 
tor, There were indeed some suppressed murmnrings, 
which foreboded the coming storm. There were, too, a 
thousand false reports, calculated to injure his character 
and reputation, industriously circulated. But so accus- 
tomed was he, in common with others of like sentiments, 
to be abused, slandered, and reviled, that it was looked 
for as a matter of course. As a specimen of these reports, 
he was represented as declaring from the pulpit in Upper 
Alton, which he supplied during the summer — that if his 
wife should die that day, he would marry a black woman 
before Saturday night. And he was once asked by one, 
who could not be charged with extreme ignorance, if he 
had really made that declaration. And many such like 
things said they of him falsely. 

In the " Observer" of June 29lh appeared the subjoined 
editorial article. 



DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.— PETITIONS. 

*' We have received from the Secretary of the Ameri- 
can Anti-Slavery Society, a communication requesting that 
we would endeavour to forward to them, as soon as possi- 
ble-, the names of two inilivitluals in every county of the 
state, who will be disposed to receive and circulate pcfi- 
lions to Congress, for the Abolition of Slavery in the 



MEMOIR OF THE REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 213 

District of Columbia. We shall send on such names as 
we are able to designate by our own knowledge, imme- 
diately ; but as there are many counties in the state 
where we have no acquaintance, we take this method of 
asking the attention of all the friends of humanity to the 
subject. We suggest the following. 

1. Let all such individuals as are willing to undertake 
this work, forward their names to us, immediately, free 
of postage, stating particularly their county, and post of- 
fice address. 

2. Where the individual so writing is unknown to us, 
let him name some respectable individual in this place to 
whom we can refer, or if he cannot do this, in some other 
way forward to us satisfactory credentials. This is ab- 
solutely necessary to guard against imposition. 

3. Let every individual who volunteers to engage in 
this work of circulating petitions, do it with the full un- 
derstanding, that it will cost him some time, some trouble, 
and the good will of every advocate of Slavery. And if 
he is not willing to undertake the business at this ex- 
pense, he had better not attempt it at all. And, moreover, 
let each one sending his name, send also the names of 
such other individuals in his own or adjoining counties, 
as he may think willing and qualified to circulate these 
petitions with zeal and success. 

We need not add a word touching the vast importance 
of this subject. With Slavery in the several states we 
have nothing to do, except in the way of argument and 
persuasion ; but let every freeman in this republic re- 
member, that so long as Slavery exists in the District of 
Columbia, he is himself a slaveholder, and a licenser of 
the horrid traffic in slaves, carried on under the very 
shadow of the Capitol's walls. We have a right to inter- 
fere there, and that right brings with it a solemn duty, 



214 MEMOIR OF THE 

which we may not innocently neglect. John Quincy 
Adams presented the petitions of more than one hundred 
thousand freemen last year, he must have a million this. 
With proper eflfort we can furnish thirty thousand from 
this state." 

To this, public attention was directed by its being 
copied into the Alton Spectator and Missouri Republican, 
and commented upon in a manner calculated to excite 
public indignation. July 6th, the " Observer" contained 
the folio win o. 



ILLINOIS STATE ANTI-SLAVERY SOCIETY. 

July Gth, 1837. 

*' Is it not time that such a society should be formed ? 
There are many, very many friends of the cause in this 
state, and their number is daily increasing. Ought not 
measures to be taken to embody their influence so as to 
make it tell with the greatest possible effect upon the 
holy cause of emancipation ? 

We would do nothing rashly, but it does seem to us 
that the time to form such a society has fully come. 
There are a number of local societies already existing in 
the state, and it would be every way better that their in- 
fluence should be concentrated. 

If it be decided that such a society ought to be formed, 
when and where shall the convention meet to form it? 
Shall it be in this place, or at Jacksonville, or Springfield, 
or elsewhere ? 

We take tlie liberty to throw out these questions for 
the consideration of our friends, and we suggest the pro- 
priety of their giving to them a speedy and candid con- 
sideration. Let as many as are in favour of the measure 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 215 

here proposed, send us their names for the purpose of 
having them attached to the call of the proposed conven- 
tion, and let each one indicate the time and place of his 
preference for the meeting of the convention, with the 
express understanding that that place shall be selected 
which has the most votes in its favour. 

We shall hope to have a response from the friends of 
the slave without delay. Every day do we feel more 
and more the necessity of action, decided and efTective 
action, on this subject. With many we are already a 
' fanatic' and an ' incendiary,' as it regards this matter, and 
we feel that we must become more and more vile in their 
eyes. We have never felt enough, nor prayed enough, 
nor done enough in behalf of the perishing slave. 

This day (the 4th) reproaches our sloth and inactivity. 
It is the day of our nation's birth. Even as we write, 
crowds are hurrying past our window, in eager anticipa- 
tion, to the appointed bower, to listen to the declaration 
that ' all men are born free and equal' — to hear the eloquent 
orator denounce, in strains of manly indignation, the at- 
tempt of England to lay a yoke upon the shoulders of 
our fathers, which neither they nor their children could 
bear. Alas ! what bitter mockery is this. We assemble 
to thank God for our own freedom, and to eat and drink 
with joy and gladness of heart, while our feet are upon 
the necks of nearly three millions of our fellow men ! 
Not all our shouts of self-congratulation can drown their 
groans — even that very flag of freedom that waves over 
our heads is formed from materials cultivated by slaves, 
on a soil moistened with their blood drawn from them by 
the whip of a republican task-master ! 

Brethren and friends, this must not be — it cannot be — 
for God will not endure it much longer. Come, then, to 
the rescue. The voice of three millions of slaves calls 



216 MEMOIR OF THE 

upon you to come and ' unloose the heavy burdens, and 
LET THE OPPRESSED GO FREE !' And on this day wheH 
every freeman's heart is glad, let us remember that — 

' Wearily ever>- bosom pineth, 
Wearily oh ! wearily oh ! 
Where the chain of Slaver}- twineth, 
Wearily oh I wearily oh I 
Tiiere the warrior's dart : 

Hath no fleetness, 
There the maiden's heart 
Hath no sweetness. 
Every flower of life declineth, 

Wearily oh I wearily oh ! 
Wearily — wearily — wearily — 
Wearily— wearil)' — wearily oh ! 
Wearily oh ! wearily oh !' " 

As far as is known, these were the most obnoxious 
articles which appeared in the " Observer," and which 
by its enemies were thought worthy of special notice. 

On Monday morning, the 8th of July, appeared an 
anonymous handbill, requesting those friends of the "Ob- 
server" dissatisfied with its course, together with the com- 
munity generally, to meet at the Market House on the 
next Thursday. The doings of this meeting, as far as is 
necessary, are here given as reported by the secretary 
and published at the time. It #as declared by the per- 
son stating the o])ject of the meeting, that it was " to sup- 
press Abolitionism in our town." 



ANTI-ABOLITION MEETING. 

" Pursuant to public notice, a large and respectable 
concourse of the citizens of Alton, assembled at the 
Market House, early yesterday evening, in order to take 
into consideration the course pursued by the Rev. E. P. 
Lovejoy, in the publication and dissemination of the 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 217 

highly odious doctrines of modern Abolitionism, and the 
more to allay the spirit of an insulted people, which 
seemed brewing like a cloud, and darkening our social 
atmosphere. Although the combination of wealth, inter- 
est, and moral power were assiduously brought to bear 
upon the community in order to deter them from such a 
course ; in boldly expressing their free and unbiased 
opinions on a subject of so delicate a nature, yet like men 
born to live and die, untrammeled by party, unseduced 
by mercenary motives, they met as freemen, determined 
io oppose, in a manly manner, and by a spirited resist- 
ance, the odious doctrine of modern misrule, which has 
stole on this community in direct violation of a sacred 
pledge. 

The meeting was organized by calling to the chair, 
Dr. Halderman, and appointing J. P. Jordan, secretary. 

The object of the meeting then being stated, on motion a 
committee of three was appointed to draw up resolutions — 

Wliereupon J. A. Townsend, Dr. H. Beall, and S. L. 
Miller, were appointed. 

The committee, after retiring for a short time, returned 
and recommended to the meeting the following preamble, 
&c., which were unanimously adopted : — 

Whereas, The citizens of Alton are called upon a 
second time to express their disapprobation of the course 
pursued by the Rev. E. P. Lovejoy, Editor of the ' Al- 
ton Observer,' in publishing and promulgating the doc- 
trines of x\bolitionism, and that, too, in violation of a 
solemn pledge, voluntarily given by him at a former 
meeting of the citizens of Alton, when an exile he sought 
their protection, that he would not interfere with the 
question of Abolitionism, in any way whatever, and that 
his intention alone was to publish a religious journal : 

And whereas J On the strength of that pledge, and in 
19 



218 MEMOIR OF THE 

full confidence that he would, as a clergyman of his pro- 
fession, hold it sacred, we welcomed him as an acquisi- 
tion to our place. But now finding, much to our mortiti- 
cation, that he has wantonly violated his pledge, and in- 
troduced into the columns of his paper. Abolition doctrines 
of a most inflammatory character, and continued without 
regard to his solemn assertion to do so, which we as citi- 
zens of a state imtrammeled with Slavery, deem it to be 
improper as well as impolitic, to agitate among us as we 
can have no benefit from it whatever, but on the con- 
trary, much injury and damage, by eliciting from our 
sister states, a feeling towards us highly injurious to our 
community. 

1. Resolved, That the Rev. E. P. Lovejoy has again 
taken up and advocated the principles of Abolitionism 
through his paper, the ' Observer,' contrary to the dispo- 
sition and will of a majority of the citizens of Alton, and 
in direct violation of a sacred pledge and assurance, that 
this paper when established in Alton should not be de- 
voted to Abolitionism. 

2. Resolved, That we disapprove of the course of the 

* Observer,' in publishing any articles favourable to Abo- 
litionism, and that we censure Mr. Lovejoy in permitting 
such publications to appear in his paper, when a pledge 
or assurance has been given to this community, by him, 
that such doctrines should not be advocated. 

3. Resolved, That a committee of five citizens be ap- 
pointed by this meeting to wait upon and confer with 
Mr. Lovejoy, and ascertain from him, whether he in- 
tends in future to disseminate through the columns of the 

• Observer,' the doctrines of Abolitionism, and report the 
result of their conference to the public. 

After the committee had read the preparatory preamble 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 219 

and resolutions, they were submitted to the meeting, and 
warmly welcomed — upon which 

It was moved that the President appoint the committee 
— when the following persons were designated : 

B. K. Hart, L. J. Clawson, Col. N. Buckmaster, B. I. 
Oilman, Col. A. Olney, and Dr. J. A. Ilalderman, by re- 
quest. 

After which Col. A. Botkin arose, and making some 
pertinent preliminary remarks, oflered the following reso- 
lution, which was cordially adopted : 

Resolved, That we, as citizens of Alton, are aware 
that the Rev. E. P. Lovejoy still persists to publish an 
Abolition paper, to the injury of the community at large, 
and as we deprecate all violence of mobs, we now call 
on him, by our committee, and politely request a discon- 
tinuance of the publication of his incendiary doctrines, 
which alone have a tendency to disturb the quiet of our 
citizens and neighbours. 

Dr. Ilalderman ofiering the four following resolutions, 
said brietly, he was glad to see such a spirit of inde- 
pendence in Alton — he was cheered to know he was not 
alone on this question — that the slaveholding states yet 
had friends even in a non-slaveholding state, to feel the 
wrongs and avenge the cause — he was moved to say, the 
liberty of our forefathers had given us the liberty of 
speech — and continuing, he added, it was our duty and 
our high privilege to act and speak on all questions 
touching this great commonwealth. 

Whereupon, the resolutions being read, after some 
amendments by Messrs. Howard and Clifibrd, were 
unanimously adopted. 

Re.solveil, That the Recommendation in an editorial ar- 
ticle of the ' Observer,' of a division in all the religious 
denominations on the sole ground of Slavery, is in our 



220 MEMOIR OF THE 

opinion destructive of the best interests of Christianity, 
and an unwarrantable assumption of arbitrary preroga- 
tive. 

Resolved, That the immediate emancipation of the en- 
tire slave population, with their admittance to all the 
privileges, suffrages, offices, immunities, and preferments, 
civil, political, and religious, in common with ourselves, 
constitutes the doctrine of modern Abolitionism. 

Resolved, That while we disapprove the doctrine of 
modern Abolitionism, we abhor and deprecate the evil 
of Slavery, and are ready and willing at any time, to give 
our inlluence and our money, to promote any system of 
emancipation, that will better the condition of that op- 
pressed race of the human family, that is agreeable to tli$ 
slaveholding states. 

Resolved, That all the presses in the West and South, 
North and East, friendly to the cause of colonization or 
gradual emancipation, in order to ameliorate the condition 
and freedom of the African race, are hereby requested to 
publish the foregoing protest and resolutions against the 
misrule of modern Abolitionism. 

(Signed,) 
J. A. HALDERMAN, Chairman. 

J. P. JoRDON, Secretary.'' 
July Uth, 1837. 

This meeting, though any thing but respectable, either 
as it regards the number, or character of those who com- 
posed it, had an important influence in bringing about 
the bloody tragedy of the 7th of November. The Editor 
thought of denying ever having given a pledge ; but be- 
ing otherwise advised by his frienc^s, did not do so. This 
was probably unwise, inasmuch as his silence, was, by 
many, construed into a tacit acknowledgment of the 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 221 

truth of the char^^e, and in consequence it was believed, 
to some extent both in Alton and abroad. 

As to the facts about this pledge we would give the 
following document, merely premising that only four of 
the individuals whose names are attached to it are Abo- 
litionists, several of them being opposed, and one de- 
cidedly hostile to the discussion of Slavery. And it is 
proper also to state that the paper was got up by one 
not an Abolitionist, and that it was signed, as far as is 
known, by all the individuals at the meeting, who were 
requested so to do. 

" Whereas it has been frequently represented that the 
Rev. Elijah P. Lovejoy, late Editor of the ' Alton Ob- 
server,' solemnly pledged himself at a public meeting 
called for the purpose of taking measures to bring to 
justice, the persons engaged in the destruction of the first 
press, brought to Alton by said Lovejoy, not to discuss 
the subject of Slavery ; We the undersigned declare the 
following to be his language in substance. * My prin- 
cipal object in coming to this place, is to establish a re- 
ligious paper. When I was in St. Louis I felt myself 
called upon to treat at large upon the subject of Slavery, 
as I was in a state where the evil existed, and as a citi- 
zen of that state I felt it my duty to devote a part of my 
columns to that subject ; but gentlemen, I am not, and 
never was in full fellowship with the Abolitionists, but 
on the contrary, have had some spirited discussions with 
some of the leading Abolitionists of the East, and am not 
now considered by them as one of them. And now 
having come into a free state where the evil does not 
exist, I feel myself less called upon to discuss the sub- 
ject than when I was in St. Louis.' The above, as wo 
have stated, was his language in substance ; the follow- 
19* 



222 MEMOIR OF THE 

ing we are willing to testify to be his words, in conclu- 
sion. 

* But gentlemen, as long as I am an American citi- 
zen, and as long as American blood runs in these veins, 
I shall hold myself at liberty to speak, to write, and to 
publish whatever I please on any subject, being amena- 
ble to the laws of my country for the same.' 

GEO. II. WALWORTH, 
A. B. ROFF, 
SOLOMON E. MOORE, 
EFFINGHAM COCK, 
JOHN W. CHICKERING,* 
JAMES MORSS, Jr.,* 
F. W. GRAVES, 
W. L. CHAPPELL, 
A. ALEXANDER, 
CHAS. W. HUNTER." 

In addition to the testimony of these gentlemen, we 
have the following editorial remarks in the first number 
of the " Alton Observer." 

September 8th, 1837. 
" When the opposition to the * Observer' commenced, 
nearly a year ago, in St. Louis, it was openly declared 
by the leader of that opposition, himself an infidel, that 
no religious paper should be permitted to be published 
in that city. During the absence of the Editor last 
spring, in attendance on the General Assembly, a lead- 
ing grog-shop keeper in St. Louis was indicted for keep- 
ing open his shop on the Sabbath. Soon after his in- 
dictment a friend of ours happened into the house, and 

♦ Messrs. C- and M. recollect ihe substance to be as above. 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOV. 223 

while there two of the grocery man's cronies came in, 
when all of them fell to cursing and swearing on the sub- 
ject of the indictment. ' It was,' said they, ' all the work 

of the d d Sunday School Union, and the Editor of 

this paper was at the bottom of the whole of it, and as 
soon as he returned they swore, with many oaths, that he 
should be mobbed.' And they fait h fully kept their word. 
Of course we had nothing to do with the indictment, be- 
ing at the time more than a thousand miles distant, and 
did not even know of it until after they had executed 
their threat. 

When the Popish Cathedral in St. Louis was conse- 
crated on the Sabbath day, amidst the pomp of military 
array, the roaring of artillery, the trampling of cavalry, 
and the sound of life and drum, we published, from a cor- 
respondent, an account of this shameful desecration of 
the Lord's day. And scarcely had our paper containing 
the article, time to circulate through the city, before 
we heard from various quarters that our office was to be 
mobbed down for the olTence we had given. Because 
we have declared — an opinion which we conscientiously 
and solemnly believe, as we shall answer it at the bar of 
God — that the system of American negro Slavery is an 
awful evil and sin, that God has expressly forbidden us 
to separate husband and wife, parent and child, that no 
man has a right to tralllc in his fellow-man, that it is the 
duty of every master to impart religious instruction to his 
slaves, and that it is the duty of us all to unite our hearty 
and zealous elTorls, to elVect the speedy and entire emanci- 
pation of that portion of our folio w-men in bondage amongst 
us ; because we expressed our deep abhorrence of the 
act of a mob, by which a human being was sacrificed un- 
der circumstances of the most horrid cruelty, and because 
we would not submit to the imputation of Judge Lawless, 



224 MEMOIR OF THE 

that we had, with others, incited MIntosh to commit the 
crime for which he sutfered — for these things, and for 
no other, has the mob been let loose upon us, and our 
printing office, together with considerable of our private 
property, been destroyed. 

Now we ask every candid man, and especially every 
Christian, what sentiment of all those avowed above, 
ought to subject the individual advancing it, to the popu- 
lar vengeance ? There may be many who differ from 
us in some of the opinions here avowed — and they have 
a right to differ — but are there not enough who hold 
them, to make them, at least, respectable ? And is it in 
this country, and this age of the world, that a man is to 
be persecuted, and crucified, for opinion's sake ? And 
especially for ^ucA opinions? Is the Inquisition, ban- 
ished even from Spain and Portugal, to be set up on the 
prairies of the West ? Are the American people, with 
the Declaration of Independence in their hands, prepared 
to engage in a general crusade in favour of the perpetual 
Slavery of a portion of the human family ? 



. — ■ ' Can these things be, 

And not o'ercome us like a s\immer cloud, 
Witli special wonder?' 

For one we distinctly avow it as our settled purpose, 
never, while life lasts, to yield to this new system of at- 
tempting to destroy, by means of mob-violence, the 
rights of conscience, the freedom of opinion, and of the 
press. We intend not to deal in harsh denunciation, 
we wish to bring about or promote no disorder or disor- 
ganization in society, we would provoke no violence 
from any portion of the community ; the only weapon we 
would use is the Truth, the only sentiment we would 
aj)peal to, the moral sense of the community^ If we 
cannot be permitted to do this, except at the risk of pro- 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOV. 225 

perty, reputation, and life, we must even take the risk. 
And the point now to be ascertained is, whether with 
these sentiments and this determination, we may rely 
upon being supported, in our present position, by the 
friends of morals and Christianity in the West. And it 
is precisely to ascertain this question, that the present 
article is written and sent forth to the public. With the 
friends of Truth, of Order, of the Rights of Conscience, 
and of God, we leave the decision." 

We now return to the " Market House Meeting," as 
that held on the 11 th of July is usually called. And here 
it is proper to remark, that although the invitation was 
principally given to the " friends of the ' Observer' who 
were dissatisfied with its course," yet not one of those 
appointed a committee to prepare resolutions for the ac- 
tion of the meeting, was a subscriber to the paper. To 
give their character does not consist with the design, nor 
comport with the dignity of this work. 

It will be seen by the third resolution that a committee 
was appointed to " wait on Mr. Lovejoy and confer 
with him" as to his future course. And here it will be 
doing but justice to Mr. B. I. Oilman to say, that his 
name was used without his consent — he not being at the 
meeting — and that he refused to act, as will be seen by 
his name not being attached to the correspondence. No 
interview ever took place between this committee and 
the Editor of the " Observer." Their letter, together 
with the reply is given. 

CORRESPONDENCE. 

" The correspondence below would have been laid be- 
fore the public sooner, but for the difficulty of getting a 
meeting of the committee." — Alton Telegraph. 



226 MEMOIR OF THE 

Alto7i, July 24th, 1837. 
To THE Rev. E. p. Lovejoy : 

Dear Sir — In the proceedings of a public 
meeting of the citizens of Alton, a copy of which is 
herewith transmitted to you, you will find the following 
resolution : 

Resolved, That a committee of five citizens be ap- 
pointed by this meeting, to wait upon and confer with 
Mr. Lovejoy, and ascertain whether .he intends to dis- 
seminate through the columns of the * Observer,' the doc- 
trine of Abolitionism, and report the result of their con- 
ference to the public. 

Whereupon, on motion, B. K. Hart, L. J. Clawson, 
Col. N. Buckmaster, B. I. Oilman, Col. A. Olney, and 
Dr. J. A. Halderman, were appointed said committee- 

The committee have thought it most advisable, to ad- 
dress to you the proceedings themselves, instead of any 
written statement of their own. The views and feelings 
By which the -citizens were actuated, and their wishes 
and expectations, are set forth with sufHcient clearness 
in their reported proceedings, to which we respectfully 
invite your attention, with the utmost deference to your 
feelings as a man, and your rights as a citizen. We re- 
spectfully request that you will at your earliest conve- 
nience, answer the inquiries embodied in the above reso- 
lution, so that we may report the same to the public, in 
the discharge of our duty. Nothing but the importance 
of the question which the meeting was called to con- 
sider, and the dangers which its unwise agitation threat- 
ens, not only to the community, but to the whole coun- 
try, could have induced us to take the step we have. 
With the wish that your answer may be dictated in wis- 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 227 

(lorn, and prove such as will be satisfactory to the com- 
munity, we subscribe ourselves with respect, 
Your obedient servants, 

B. K. HART, 

L. J. CLAWSON, 

N. BUCKMASTER, 

A. OLNEY, 

JOHN A. HALDERMAN." 

Alton, July 26th, 1837. 
Messrs. B. K. Hart, L. J. Clawson, N. Buckmas- 
TER, A. Olney, and John A. Halderman. 

*' Gentlemen — I have this day received through the 
Post Office, a communication signed by yourselves and 
addressed to me, enclosing a printed copy of the pro- 
ceedings had at a public meeting held in this place on 
the 10th inst., to which proceedings you invite my atten- 
tion. 

Before replying more immediately to your communi- 
cation, permit me to express my gratification at the kind 
and courteous terms in which it is made. In this respect 
it gives me pleasure to say, your letter is all 1 could de- 
sire. Be pleased, gentlemen, to accept my thanks. If 
therefore, my answer be not such, in some respects, as 
you might perhaps wish, I beg you will not attribute it to 
any want of respect to yourselves as individuals or to 
your opinions on the principal subject of your communi- 
cation. 

You will, therefore, permit me to say, that with the 
most respectful feelings towards you individually, I can- 
not consent, in this answer, to recognize you as the offi- 
cial organ of a public meeting convened to discuss the 
question, whether certain sentiments should, or should 
not be discussed in the public newspaper of which I am 



228 MEMOIR OF THE 

the Editor. By doing so, I should virtually admit that 
the liberty of the press and freedom of speech, were 
rightfully subject to other supervision and control, than 
those of the land. But this I cannot admit. On the 
contrary, in the language of one of the speakers at the 
meeting, 1 believe that * the liberty of our forefathers 
has given us the liberty of speech,' and that it is ' our 
duly and our high privilege, to act and speak on all ques- 
tions touching this great commonwealth.' 1 am happy, 
gentlemen, in being able heartily to concur in the above 
sentiments, which I perceive were uttered by one of 
your own members, and in which I cannot doubt, you 
all agree. I would only add, that I consider this ' liberty' 
was ascertained, but never originated by our forefathers. 
It comes to us, as I conceive, from our Maker, and is in 
its nature inalienable, belonging to man as man. 

Believing, therefore, that every thing having a tenden- 
cy to bring this right into jeopardy, is eminently danger- 
ous as a precedent, I cannot admit that it can be called 
in question by any man or body of men, or that they can 
with any j)ropricty, question me as to my exercise of it. 
Gentlemen, I have confidence that you will, upon reflec- 
tion, agree with me in this view of the case, and will 
consequently appreciate, with justice, my motives in de- 
clining to receive your communication, as from the oHl- 
cial organ of the meeting to which you refer. 

But as individuals whom I highly respect, permit mo 
to say to you, that it is very far from my intention to do 
any thing calculated to bring on an ' unwise agitation,' 
of the subject of Slavery, in this community. It is a 
subject that, as I apprehend, must be discussed, must be 
agitated. All virulence and intemperance of language, 
I should conceive to be ' unwise agitation.' It shall be 
my aim to resort and provoke to neither, i hope to discuss 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOV. 229 

the overwhelmingly important subject of Slavery, with 
the freedom of a republican and the meekness of a 
Christian. If I fail in either respect, I beg that you 
will attribute it, gentlemen, to that imperfection which 
attends us all in the performance of our best purposes. 

Permit me, respectfully, to refer you to an editorial 
article in the ' Alton Observer' of the 20ih instant, head- 
ed, * What are the sentiments of Anti-Slavery men ?' for 
the full expression of my views and principles on the 
subject of Slavery. If these views can be shown to be 
erroneous, I hold myself ready to reject them, and if 
you, or either of you, or any of my fellow-citizens, deem 
them, and feel able to demonstrate them to be unsound, 
or of dangerous tendency, you and they are cordially in- 
vited to make use of the columns of the ' Observer' for 
that purpose. 

With much respect. 

Your friend and fellow-citizen, 

ELIJ.VII P. LOVEJOY." 

From this time, threats of destroying the office of the 
" Observer" by violence, were openly and frequently 
heard. The Missouri Republican, a paper printed at St. 
Louis, did what it oould, and that was not a little, to fos- 
ter this spirit of lawlessness and outrage. Of this, how- 
ever, the reader can judge from the following editorial ex- 
tracts from that paper. The first was in the number con- 
taining the doings of the Market House meeting. 

THE ALTON MEETING. 

" We give to-day all of the proceedings of the meeting 
held in Alton, on Thursday last, that our space will per- 
mit. We rejoice to see our neighbours taking this sub- 
20 



230 JIEMOIIl OF THE 

ject into hand. The proceedings of the meeting speak 
for themselves. They are not the intemperate ebulhtions 
of excitement, or the temporary expression of a high 
wrought feehng ; on the contrary, the proceedings through- 
out, manifest to us, the deep and settled purpose of men 
whose hospitalities have been slighted, and whose friend- 
ships have been abused, by one, who was bound by every 
moral and political obligation to have acted otherwise. 
The Editor of the ' Observer' has merited the full mea- 
sure of the community's indignation ; and if he will not 
learn from experience, they are very likely (o teach him 
by practice, something of the light in which the honour- 
able and respectable portion of the community view his 
conduct. He has, by his adhesion to the odious doc- 
trines of Abolitionism, of which faction he now avows 
himself a member, and by his continued eflbrts to dis- 
seminate tliese odious doctrines, forfeited all claims to 
the protection of that or any other community." 

The second was in the paper of the 17th of August, a 
few days, as will be seen, before the mob, and headed. 
Abolition. 

*' We perceive that an Anti-Slavery Society has been 
formed at Upper Alton, and many others, doubtless, will 
shortly spring up in dilTerent parts of the state. Wc 
had hoped, that our neighbours would have ejected from 
amongst them, that minister of mischief, the * Observer,' 
or at least corrected its course. Something must be done 
in this matter, and that speedily ! The good people of 
Illinois must either put a stop to the ellorts of these 
fanatics, or expel them from their conmiunity. If this is 
not done, the travel of emigrants through their slate, and 
the trade of tin; slaveholding states, and particularly Mis- 
souri, must stop. Every one who desires the harmony 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 231 

of tlie country, and the peace and prosperity of all, 
should unite to put tliem down. They can do no positive 
got)d, and may do nuich irreparahlc harm. We would 
not desire to see this done at the expense of public or- 
der or legal restraint ; but there is a moral indignation 
which the virtuous portion of a community may exert, 
which is suflicient to crush this faction and forever dis- 
grace its fanatic instigators. It is to this we appeal, and 
hope that the appeal will not be unheeded." 

/ On the 21st of August, he was taught by " experience 
I the full measure of the community's indignation which 
he had merited," and began to learn by " practice" that 
he had not only " lost all claims to the protection of the 
community," but that, that protection was actually with- 
drawn. On this night, — two unsuccessful attempts hav- 
ing been made before — between the hours of ten and 
eleven, the olhce was entered by a band of fifteen or 
twenty citizens of that place, and press, type, and every 
thing destroyed. Several of the hands were in the ofTice 
at the time, together with a few other individuals. The 
mob commenced, as usual, with throwing stones into the 
building. One man was hit on the head and severely 
wounded ; soon after which, the olhce was left, and tlie 
ruffians entered unopposed, and effected their work of de- 
struction. 

As it was early, a large concourse of citizens were 
collected, and witnessed the doings of the mob. Yet 
the strongest argument used to dissuade them from their 
ftlonious work, was, that if they would wait till morning 
he, the individual tliat addressed them, a wholesale mer- 
chant, would go in with them, help pack up the materials 
of the oflice, place them on some boat, put the p]ditor on 
top. ami st'iid tluni all down the river together ! The 



232 MEMOIR OF THE 

civil authorities did nothing. The mayor did not even 
gain a " respectful" audience by words of persuasion. 
Had you on the next morning passed round from store to 
store, and from house to house, through the length and 
breadth of Alton, the expressions "good enough for him," 
" served him just right," " glad of it," would oftener have 
been heard, than any words of reprobation or regret, aye, 
ten to one. 

The very narrow and providential escape of the Edi- 
tor from the hands of the same ruthless miscreants that 
demolished his office, will best be given in his own words. 

Alton, September 5ih, 1837. 
Dearest Mother, 

My press has again been mobbed down. I be- 
lieve brother Owen has written to you about it. It was 
done the 21st of August, Monday night, about 11 o'clock. 
But I have thought perhaps you would like to hear 
from me, and I would have written sooner, but that I have 
been so hurried and icorricd, and so busy, that I could not 
snatch the time. 

Do not think, mother, that I am disheartened or dis- 
couraged. Neither is true. I never was more convinced 
of the righteousness of the cause, and the certainty of its 
ultimate triumph. "As thy day is, so shall thy strength 
be." The truth of this promise, I have abundantly ex- 
perienced. I have been enabled to bear things, easily 
to bear them, that I should once have thought would 
have cru.shed me to the earth. The Lord has indeed 
been to me a present, a vert/ present help, in time of 
trouble. The Sabbath succeeding the mob, I preached 
from the text, " Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, 
whose mind is stayed on thee, because he trustethin thee." 
1 understood that text as I never had before. 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 233 

Perhaps you would like to have a brief description of 
the proceedings of the mob. About 9 o'clock I was re- 
turning from a friend's where I had been to marry a 
couple. I stepped into the apothecary's as I came 
through town, and got some medicine to bring home to 
my wife, she being very sick, as were also several other 
members of my family. We reside more than half a mile 
from town. And just as T was leaving the principal street 
I met the mob. Thoy did not at first recognize me, and I 
parted their columns for some distance, and had just 
reached the rear, when some of them began to suspect 
who it was. They immediately wheeled their column 
and came after me ; I did not hurry at all, believing it 
was not for such a man as I am to flee. They seemed a 
little loath to come on me, and I could hear their leaders 
swearing at them, and telling them to "push on," &c. 
By this time they began to throw clods of dirt at me, and 
several hit, without hurting me. And now a fellow 
pushed up to my side armed with a club, to ascertain 
certainly who it was. He then yelled out, " It's the 

d d Abolitionist, give him hell ;" whereat there was 

another rush upon me. But when they got close up, 
they seemed again to fall back. At length a number of 
them, linked arm in arm, pushed by me and wheeled in 
the road before me, thus stopping mc completely. I 
then spoke to them, asking them why 'they stopped me. 

By this time the cry was all around me, " d n him," 

" rail him," " rail him," " tar and feather him," " tar and 
feather him." 1 had no doubt that such was to be my 
fate. I then said to them, I have one request to make of 
you, and then you may do with me what you please, — I 
then asked them to send one of their number to take the 
medicine to my wife, which I begged they would do 
without alarming her. This they promised, and sent one 
20* 



234 MEMOIR OF THE 

of their number to do it, who did it according to their 
promise. I then said to them, " You had better let me 
go home, you have no right to detain me ; I have never 
injured you." They began to curse and swear, when I 
added, " I am in your hands, and you must do with me 
whatever God permits you to do." They consulted a few 
moments, and then told me I might go home. 

Thus you see how the Lord delivered me from those 
who rose up to do me hurt. Blessed be his name. During 
the whole of this trying scene my mind was as calm as 
it is now. I had lime when I heard the mob coming, to 
lift up my heart to God, and he kept it in perfect peace. 

Do write soon. My sheet is full. I am well, and so 
are we all but wife and child, and they are better. Love 
to all our brothers and sisters. May God bless them and 
you, my dearest mother. 

ELIJAH P. LOVEJOy. 

That the world may know what were the principles, 
for believing which he " forfeited all claims to the pro- 
tection of that or any other community," we give here 
his sentiments on the subject of Slavery, as contained 
in the " Alton Observer" of July 20th, 1837, alluded to 
in his answer to the Market House Committee. 



WHAT ARE THE DOCTRINES OF ANTI- 
SLAVERY MEN ? 

** A vouNo man had become exceedingly angry with an 
ancient philosopher, and had raised his cane to strike 
him. ' Strike,' said the philosopher — ' strike, but hear 
me.' He listened, and was convinced. There is not, 
probably, an individual, who reads tliis, that cannot re- 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 235 

collect some instance in his life, in which his strong op- 
position to certain measures and principles, he now sees, 
was entirely owing lo groundless and unreasonable pre- 
judices ; and he is a fortunate man who can recollect 
but one such instance. 

In respect to the subject now to be discussed, the 
writer frankly confesses no one of his readers can pos- 
sibly be more prejudiced, or more hostile to anti-slavery 
measures or men, than he once was. And his, too, were 
honest, though, alas ! how mistaken, prejudices. They 
arose partly from the fact that the ' new measures' came 
directly in contact with his former habits of thought and 
action, and partly, and chiefly, from the strange and as- 
tonishingly perverted representations given of leading 
men and their principles, in this new movement. We 
recollect no instance of parallel misrepresentation, except 
the charge brought against Cl^ist of casting out devils 
by Beelzebub, the prince oi, jdevils. These misrepre- 
sentations were started by ai'ew, and honestly believed 
by the many. They still prevail to a very great extent. 
Very probably some of out readers may be under their 
influence more or less. W^ ask them to be candid with 
themselves, and if they find this to be the case, to make 
an effort to throw then\off, and come to the perusal of 
what follows, ready to embrace . the truth wherever it is 
found. For truth is eternal, unchanging, though circum- 
stances may, and do operate to give a different colour to 
it, in our view, at different times. And truth will pre- 
vail, and those who do not yield to it must be destroyed 
by it. What then arc the doctrines of Anti-Slavery men ? 

FIRST PRINCIPLES. 

1. Abolitionists hold that 'all men arc born free and 
equal, endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable 



236 MEMOIR OF THE 

riglits, among which are life, LinERTV, and the pursuit 
of happiness.' They do not beUeve that these rights are 
abrogated, or at all modified by the colour of the skin, 
but that they extend alike to every individual of the hu- 
man family. 

2. As the above-mentioned rights are in their nature 
inalienable, it is not possible that one man can convert 
another into a piece of property, thus at once annihi- 
lating all his personal rights, without the most flagrant 
injustice and usurpation. But American Slavery does 
this — it declares a slave to be a 'thing,' a 'chat- 
tel,' an article of personal ' property,' a piece of ' mer- 
chandise,' and now actually holds two and a half 
MILLIONS of our fellow-men in this precise condition. 

3. Abolitionists, therefore, hold American Slavery to 
be a icrong, a legalized system of inconceivable injus- 
tice, and a six. That it is a sin against God, whose 
prerogative as the rightful owner of all human beings is 
usurped, and against the slave himself, who is deprived 
of the power to dispose of his services as conscience may 
dictate, or his Maker require. And as whatever is mo- 
rally wrong can never be politically right, and as the 
Bible teaches, and as Abolitionists believe, that ' right- 
eousness exaltoth a nation, while sin is a reproach to any 
people,' they also hold that Slavery is a political evil of 
unspeakable magnitude, and one which, if not removed, 
will speedily work the downfall of our free institutions, 
both civil and reliufious. 

4. As the Bible inculcates upon man but one duty in 
respect to sin, and that is, immediate repentance ; Aboli- 
tionists believe that all who hold slaves, or who approve 
the practice in others, should imrnrdidtdi/ cease to do so. 

5. Lastly, Abolitionists helicvo, that as all men arc 
born free, no all who are now held as slaves in this 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 237 

country were born free, and that they are slaves now 
is the sin, not of those who introduced the race into this 
country, but of those, and those alone, who now hold 
them, and have held them in Slavery from their birth. 
Let it be admitted, for argument's sake, that A or B has 
justly forfeited his title to freedom, and that he is now 
the rightful slave of C, bought with his money, how does 
this give C a claim to the posterity of A down to the 
latest generation ? And does not the guilt of enslaving 
the successive generations of A's posterity belong to 
their respective masters, whoever they be ? No where 
arc the true principles of freedom ^nd personal rights 
better understood than at the South, though their prac- 
tice corresponds so wretchedly with their theory. Abo- 
litionists adopt, as their own, the following sentiments, 
expressed by Mr. Calhoun in a speech on the tariff ques- 
tion, delivered in the Senate of the United States, in 
1833 : — ' lie who earns the money — icho digs it out of 
the earth with the sweat of his brow, has ?i just title to it 
against the Universe. No one has a right to touch it, 
uithout his consent, except his government, and it only 
to the extent of its legitimate wants : to take more is 
rohberyi' Now, this is precisely what slaveholders do, 
and Abolitionists do but echo back their own language, 
when they pronounce it ' robbery.'' 

EMANCIPATION WHAT IS MEANT BY IT ? 

Simply, that the slaves shall cease to be held as pro- 
perty, and shall henceforth be held and treated as hu- 
man beings. Simply, that we should take our feet from 
ofl' their necks. Perhaps we cannot express ourselves 
better than to quote the language of another southerner. 
In reply to the question what is meant by emancipation, 
the answer is : 



238 MEMOIR OF THE 

1. ' It is to reject with indi«,malion the wild and guilty 
phantasy, that man can hold property in man. 2. To 
pay the labourer his hire, for he is worthy of it. 3. No 
longer to deny him the right of marriage, but to ' let every 
man have his own wife,' as saith the apostle. 4. To let 
parents have their own children, for they are the gift of 
the Lord to them, and no one else has any right to them. 
5. No longer to withhold the advantages of education, 
and the privilege of reading the Bible. 6. To put the 
slave under the protection of law, instead of throwing 
him beyond its salutary influence.' 

Now, who is there that is opposed to Slavery at all, 
and believes it to be wrong and a sin, but will agree to 
all this ? 

HOW AND BY WHOM IS EMANCIPATION TO BE EFFECTED ? 

To this question the answer is, by the masters them- 
selves, and by no others. No others can eflect it, nor is 
it desirable that they should, even if they could. Eman- 
cipation, to be of any value to the slave, must be the free, 
voluntary act of the master, performed from a conviction 
of its propriety. This avowal may sound very strange 
to those who have been in the habit of taking the prin- 
ciples of the Abolitionists from the misrepresentations of 
their opponents. Yet this is, and always has been, the 
cardinal principle of Abolitionists. If it be asked, 
then, why they intermeddle in a matter where they can 
confessedly do nothing themselves, in achieving the de- 
sired result? their reply is, that this is the very reason 
why they do and ought to intermeddle. It is because 
they cannot emancipate the slaves, that they call upon 
those who can to do it. Could they themselves do it, 
there would be no need of discussion — instead of dis- 



I 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOV. 239 

cussing they would act, and wiili tlicir present views, 
the work would soon be accomplished. 

Who are they that hold Temperance meetings, form 
Temperance Societies, sustain and edit, and circulate 
Temperance 'Intelligencers' and 'Heralds'? Are they 
the men who own distilleries, or who sell or drink ardent 
spirits by the wholesale or retail ? Directly the reverse. 
They are men who have been convinced of the evil and 
the sin of such practices, and having quit them, them- 
selves, are now endeavouring to persuade their neigh- 
bours to do the same thing. For what purpose are the 
very efficient Executive Committee of the Illinois State 
Temperance Society now publishing their ' Herald,' and 
endeavouring to send it into every family of the state I 
Avowedly for the purpose of shutting up every distillery 
and dram shop in the state. The object is a noble one, 
and we bid them God speed ; but how do they purpose 
to accomplish it ? By doing violence, or exciting an 
angry conununity to do violence, to the persons or pro- 
perty of their fellow citizens ? By no manner of means. 
They would not, if they could, shut up a single grog- 
shop belonging to their neighbours — and in this thing, all 
the inhabitants of the state, yea, of the world, are their 
neighbours — but they wish, and are determined, if light, 
and love, and argument, and fact, and demonstration can 
edect it, to persuade all to abandon a business so detri- 
mental to all concerned in it, and to the community at 
large. Now this is precisely the ground occupied by 
Abolitionists in relation to Slavery. And let it be re- 
membered that the objection of interfering in the busi- 
ness of others applies with equal force to the one as to 
the other. Should the friends of Temperance succeed, 
they will deprive many a man of what is now a very 
profitable business, and so will the Aboliliouisls. But in 



240 MEMOIR OF THE 

both cases the result will be achieved with the hearty 
and glad acquiescence of those more immediately con- 
cerned, and a great common good will be effected, infi- 
nitely over-balancing the partial evil, if evil it may be 
called, to deprive a man of the profits arising from rum 
selling or slave trading. 

But, in the second place, as to the particular fnoJe of 
effecting emancipation. This, too, belongs to the master 
to decide. When we tell a distiller or a vender of ar- 
dent spirits, that duty requires him to forsake his present 
business, we go no further. It belongs not to the preacher 
of Temperance to dictate to them, what particular use 
they shall make of those materials now so improperly 
employed. He may do any thing, convert his buildings 
and appurtenances to any use, so that it be a lawful one. 
Yet advice might, perhaps, be kindly given and profitably 
listened to. AVe can tell the slaveholder what he may 
do with his slaves after emancipation, so as to do them 
justice, and at the same time, lose nothing himself. 
Employ them as free labourers, pay them their stipulated 
wages, and the results of the West India emancipation 
have afforded to us the means of assuring him that he 
will derive more clear profit from their labour as freemen 
than as slaves. Did the Abolitionists propose to remove 
the slave population from the country, the free inhabi- 
tants of the iSouth might justly complain ; for that would 
soon render their country a barren and uncultivated 
waste. But they aim at no such thing ; nor yet would 
they encourage or allow the emancipated slaves to roam 
about the country as idle vagabonds ; they would say to 
them, as to others, " They that will not work, neither 
shall they eat," and let the regulation be enforced with 
all proper sanctions. Only, when they work let thorn 
be paid for it. 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 241 

AMALGAMATION EQUAL PRIVILEGES, ttc. 

No charge has been more perseveringly made, or con- 
tribule J more to render the cause of emancipation odious, 
than that its friends were also advocates of the amalga- 
mation of the two races. Now, in answer to this, we 
reply : 

1. The charge comes with an exceedingly bad grace 
from those who are loudest in making it ; since they, that 
is many of them — (we speak within bounds when we say 
more than half of them) — do not only advocate, but ac- 
tually practice amalgamation. The evidence of this is 
written in the bleached countenances of the slaves 
throughout all the slaveliolding region. The law of 
slave descent is, that the children follow the condition of 
the mother ; and the consequence is, that thousands hold 
as slaves their own sons and daughters, and brothers and 
sisters, and nephews and neices. We know several 
cases of this sort. The Vice President of the United 
States has been, if he is not now, the father of slaves. 
And thousands have voted to elevate him to his present 
condition, who would crucify an Abolitionist on the bare 
suspicion of favouring, though only in theory, such an 
amalgamation. How shall we account for such incon- 
sistency '^ 

2. But, secondly, the charge is untrue — completely, 
and absolutely, and in every sense untrue. Abolitionists 
do NOT advocate the doctrine of amalgamation, but the 
reverse. And nothing can be more unjust than thus to 
charge them, without the least shadow of truth to sustain 
the charge. On the contrary, one reason why Abolition- 
itsts urge the Abolition of Slavery is, that they fully be- 
lieve it will put a stop, in a great, and almost entire mea- 
sure, to that wretched, and shameful, and polluted inter- 
course between the whites and blacks, now so common, 

21 



242 iMEMOIR OF THE 

it may be said so universal, in the slave states. As to 
equality of privileges, immunities, &;c., the question of 
emancipation has nothing to do with these questions at 
all. Abolitionists are not so silly as to suppose that 
merely setting the slaves free will at once make 
learned, virtuous, and influential individuals out of the 
degraded mass of slaves. They know better, though at 
the same time, they believe a process of purification and 
elevation would commence, which would gradually be 
productive of the most beneficial consequences. The 
question of civil rights is one entirely distinct from that 
of personal rights. Let the latter be restored and guar- 
anteed, and the whole object of the Abolitionists, as such, 
is accomplished. Political rights are alienable, per- 
sonal rights are not. Personal rights are often as se- 
cure under the government of a despot — Frederick the 
Great, of Prussia, for instance, as they possibly can be 
any where ; while at the same time the subject has no 
political rights, give him these and you allow him to pursue 
his own happiness in his own way, provided he seeks it 
not at the expense of others. If in this pursuit he be- 
comes the most virtuous, the most learned, the most elo- 
quent, the most influential man in the United States, we 
see not how it is to be helped, nor who has a right to ob- 
struct his course. 

The above exposition of anti-slavery principles has 
been made at the request of a number of our re- 
spectable citizens. In preparing it, w^e have felt deeply 
our responsibility, and have trembled lest through any in- 
advertence of language we should make ourselves liable 
to be misunderstood, and thus repel the minds of those 
whom we wish to gain. In the correctness of these 
principles wc have the most unshaken confidence, and 
that they finally will be properly understood and most 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 243 

universally adopted by our countrymen, we have no more 
doubt than we have, that Washington lived and Warren 
died to secure the blessings of civil and religious liberty. 
That they have met with such determined opposition, 
and brought upon their prominent supporters such ex- 
treme manifestations of popular hatred, is partly and 
chiefly owing to the fact that they have been strangely 
misapprehended, and partly that in their practical appli- 
cation in this country, they strike, or are supposed to 
srike, at self-interests of great magnitude. 

Until the sentiments and principles set forth above 
shall prevail over the earth, the world can never be deliv- 
ered from the bondage under which it has so long groaned. 
They are the sentiments which, though oftentimes dimly 
and feebly apprehended, have actuated the minds of the 
great and good of every age, who have mourned over the 
degradation of human nature, and have sought to elevate 
it, by ascertaining and securing those rights of man with 
which his Maker has endowed him. They are the prin- 
ciples which actuated a Thrasybulus, an Epaminondas, a 
Spartacus and a Brutus, of antiquity ; a Doria, a Tell, a 
Hampden, a Sidney, a Russell, a Hancock, an Adams, a 
Washington, of later days. They brought our pilgrim 
fathers from the homes and fire-sides of old England to 
tliis country, then an unknown land, and a waste, howl- 
ing wilderness. They sustained them to endure roils, 
and hardships, and privations, until they made the ' wilder- 
ness to rejoice and blossom as the rose.' And now shall 
their children forsake these principles, and attempt to roll 
back the wheels of that reformation on whose banner is 
inscribed the liberty and equality of the human 
RACE, and which dispenses in its train, alike to all, the 
blessings of peace, of harmony, and the unmolested rights 
of conscience ? No, they will not, they dare not. 



24.4 MEMOIR OF THE REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 

We do not mean to be understood than in the oases 
referred to above, the manifestations of these principles 
were always proper. Enough, however, appeared to 
show that the minds of these patriots and sages were 
communing with their Maker, and were receiving from 
Him — though owing to the darkness of their minds, im- 
perfectly understood and often misapprehended — revela- 
tions of the rights, duties, and privileges which he de- 
signed for the race. 

Did the forms 
Of servile custom cramp thoir gen'rous powers T 
Would sordid policies, the barb'rous growth 
Of ignorance and rapine, bow them down 
To tame pursuits, to indolence and fear ? 
Lo : they appeal to nature, to the winds 
And rolling waves, the sun's unwearied course, 
The elements and seasons ; all declare 
For what the eternal Maker has ordain'd 
The powers of man , they fell within themselves 
His energy divine. 

These principles, then, are eternal and immutable, for 
they are established by, God himself, and whoever would 
destroy them, must first reach up to heaven and dethrone 
the Almighty. Sin had well nigh banished them from 
the earth, when the Son of God came down to re-assert 
them, and died to sanction them. They are summed 
up, perfectly, in the language by which the angels an- 
nounced the object of the Redeemer's mission — ' Glory 
TO God in the highest, on earth peace, good will 
toward men.' " 



CHAPTER XIII. 



Immediately after the destruction of the materials of 
the office, the friends in Alton had a meeting, at which 
there was but one voice, and that was, that the " Obser- 
ver" must be re-established and go on. A gentleman, one 
of the most wealthy in the place, said, that although he 
could not at that time advance the money to purchase 
new materials, yet rather than that the paper should not 
be again started he would mortgage every cent of his 
private property. 

Thus encouraged, the Editor sent forth the following 
appeal on an extra sheet of the " Observer." 

TO THE FRIENDS AND SUBSCRIBERS OF 
THE ALTON OBSERVER. 

August 2ith, 1837. 

After mentioning the demolition of his office, he 
continues : 

I now appeal to you, and all the friends of law and 
order, to come up to the rescue. If you will sustain me, 
by the help of God, the press shall be again established 
at this place, and shall be sustained, come what will. 
Let the experiment be fairly tried, whether the liberty of 
speech and of the press is to be enjoyed in Illinois or 
not. 

We need your help, and we must have it or sink. Let 
every man who ever means to do any thing in the cause 
21* 



246 MEMOIR OF THE 

of civil and religious liberty, do it now. Let new sub- 
scribers send in their names, let former subscribers pay- 
up their dues, and let every one send in their contribu- 
tions, as it will require not less than fifteen hundred dol- 
lars to re-establish the " Observer." Every thing depends 
on you. If you take hold like men, like freemen, like 
Christians, all will be well ; if you do not, mobism will 
triumph, but I shall be guiltless. 

ELIJAH P. LOVEJOY. 

P. S. Let every man disposed to help, write me im- 
mediately, and let me know definitely, what he can do 
and what he will do. E. P. L. 

The response to this appeal was full, prompt, decided 
and encouraging ; and from almost all classes. Espe- 
cially was this the case from his ministerial brethren. 
The letters before us, and there are many, from every 
part of the state, and not a few from other states, are 
uniformly expressive of sympathy and condolence to- 
wards the Editor, and approval of his course — assurance 
of assistance — and an earnest wish and confident expec- 
tation that his paper should go on. It is difhcult to de- 
cide which is greatest, the surprise or indignation ex- 
pressed in these letters. Surprise, because Alton had a 
name for morality and religion above every other place 
in the state ; and indignation that any attempt should be 
made to destroy the freedom of the press, and that eight 
or ten thousand people should be deprived the opportu- 
nity of reading the paper of their choice. 

Having, in Alton and Quincy, obtained by subscription 
a sufficient sum, he sent to Cincinnati to purchase the 
requisite materials for a new ofiico. 

Although his hands were thus made strong, and his heart 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 2 17 

encouraged, still the latter part of September, and the first 
of the next month, was perhaps the gloomiest season of the 
year: notfromthe deadly hatred of his enemies, though that 
was continually increasing, but from the waning ardour, 
and wavering resolution of many of his friends in Alton. 
There were some, however, who never swerved nor hesi- 
tated. And it must be acknowledged that there were 
many things to discourage them. The pecuniary burden 
had to a considerable extent fallen on them, and money 
matters were hard. But what contributed principally to 
this abatement of zeal, and partial desertion among his 
friends, was the pernicious influence of a certain pam- 
phlet,* full of gross perversions, gilded over with a smirk- 
ing cant of Christian sincerity. This tract with a spe- 
cious sophistry well calculated to deceive, endeavours to 
prove that the Holy Bible sanctions the system of Ameri- 
can Slavery ; and exhorts the conscientious slaveholder 
no longer to go with his head bowed down like a bulrush, 
oppressed with the feeling that God's " hot displeasure," 
is out against him for his oppression and injustice, but to 
go cheerily on in the good old time-honoured path press- 
ed by patriarchal feet, and guarded by apostolic injunc- 
tions ! 

Such was the influence of this pamphlet, seconded as 
it was by the eflbrts of a kindred spirit — the Rev. Joel 
Parker of New Orleans, that some were deceived and 
*' went back," others disheartened; and all who were 
opposed, confirmed and strengthened in their hostility. 

In consequence there was a want of union among 
those who had been supporters of the "Observer." Some 
wanted it to be a religious paper — which indeed it al- 
ways had been — in other words that it should not med- 

* By Rev. Mr. Smylie of Mississippi. 



248 MEMOIR OF THE 

die with the subject of Slavery. We speak now of 
those in Alton, with whom it was to decide whether the 
paper should start there again or not. Owing to this 
state of things, the following letter was written. 



TO THE FRIENDS OF THE REDEExMER IN 
ALTON. 

Alton, September Uth, 1837. 
Dear Brethren, 

It is at all times important that the friends of 
truth should be united. It is especially so at the pre- 
sent time, when iniquity is coming in like a flood. I 
should be false to my covenant vows, and false to every 
feeling of my heart, were I to refuse making any per- 
sonal sacrifice to eflfect so desirable an object. Having 
learned that there is a division of sentiments among the 
brethren, as it regards the propriety of my continuing 
longer to fill the office of Editor of the " Alton Observer," 
I do not hesitate a moment to submit the question to your 
decision. Most cheerfully will I resign my post, if in 
your collective wisdom you think the cause we all pro- 
fess to love will thereby be promoted. And in coming 
to a decision on this question, I beseech you as a favour 
— may 1 not enjoin it as a duty ? — that you act without 
any regard to my personal feelings. I should be false to 
the Master I serve, and of whose gospel I am a minis- 
ter, should I allow my own interests, (real or supposed,) 
to be placed in competition with his. Indeed, I have no 
interest, no wish, at least I think I have none ; I know I 
ought to have none other than such as are subordinate 
to his will. Be it yours, brethren, to decide what is 
best for the cause of truth, most for the glory of God, and 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 249 

the salvation of souls, and rest assured — whatever my 
own private judgment may be — of my cordial acquies- 
cence in your decision. 

I had, at first, intended to make an unconditional sur- 
render of the editorship into your hands. But as such 
a course might be liable to misconstructions, I have, by 
the advice of a beloved brother, detcrniincd to leave the 
Mhole matter with you. I am ready (o go forward if 
you say so, and ecjually ready to yield to a successor, if 
such be your o])inion. Yet let me say, promptly, that in 
looking back over my past labours as Editor of the " Ob- 
server," while I see many imperfections, and many er- 
rors and mistakes, I have, nevertheless, done the best I 
could. This I say in the fear of God ; so that if I am 
to continue the Editor, you must not, on the whole, ex- 
pect a much better paper than you have had. 

Should you decide that I ought to give place to a suc- 
cessor, I shall expect the two following conditions to be 
fulfdled. 

1. That you will assume in its behalf, all my obliga- 
tions contracted in consequence of my connection with 
the " Observer." Some of them were contracted imme- 
diately on behalf of the " Observer," and some in sup- 
porting my family while its Editor. 

2. As I have now spent four among the best years of 
my life in struggling to establish the " Observer," and 
place it on its present footing, I shall expect you will 
furnish me with a sum sufficient to enable me to re- 
move myself and family to another field of labour. More 
I do not ask, and I trust this will not be thought unrea- 
sonable. I would not ask even this had I the means 
myself, but I have not. 

3. On tliese conditions I surrender into your hands 
the " Observer's" subscription list, now amounting to 



250 MEMOIR OF THE 

more than two thousand one hundred names, and con- 
stantly increasing, together with all the dues coming to 
the establishment. A list both of the debts and credits 
accompanies this communication. 

iMay the spirit of wisdom, dear brethren, guide you to 
a wise and unanimous decision — to a decision which God 
will approve and ratify, and which shall redound to the 
glory of his name. 

Yours affectionately, 

ELIJAH P. LOVEJOY. 

This paper we introduce for two reasons ; first, as it 
is a part of his history ; and secondly, that the reader 
may have the means of judging as it regards those 
charges of obstinacy and self-will which have so often 
been preferred against him. 

At a meeting for the consideration of this resignation, 
the two following resolutions were introduced, for the 
sake of some definite action : 

1. Resolved, That the " Alton Observer" ought to be 
established. 

2. Resolved, That the Rev. Elijah P. Lovcjoy ought 
to continue its Editor. 

The first of these was passed, as far as is known, 
without debate, or a dissenting voice. The second, after 
being discussed through two or three successive meet- 
in f=fs, was left without any definite action whatever. A 
gentleman playfully remarked one evening, on coming 
from one of these discussions, " we have been trying to 
kill your brother all the afternoon, but we cannot suc- 
ceed." Thus the thing remained. Meanwhile, on the 
21st of September, while tlie Editor was absent attcnd- 
I ing a meeting of the Presbytery, the press — the third 
I Vhich he had brought to Alton in little more than a year, 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 251 

arrived. It was landed about sunset, or a little after, 
and, surrounded by quite a number of friends, who had 
been apprised of its coming ; was conveyed to the ware- 
house of Gerry and Weller. As it passed along the streets 
cries were heard, " there goes the Abolition press, stop 
it, stop it ;" but no actual violence was offered. The 
mayor, apprised of its arrival, and also of the threats of 
its destruction, gave positive assurance that it should be 
protected ; and expressed a wish that its friends should 
leave it in his hands. They did so. He posted a con- 
stable at the door, with orders to remain till a certain 
hour. As soon as he left, ten or twelve " respectable' 
ruffians, disguised with handkerchiefs over their faces, 
broke open the store, rolled the press across the street 
to the side of the river, broke it to pieces, and threw it 
in. While thus engaged, and before they had proceeded 
far in this work of robbery, the mayor arrived. He told 
them to disperse. They replied, that they would " as 
soon as they got through," and went on. This is lite- 
rally true. The mayor returned, saying, that he never 
witnessed a more quiet and gentlemanly mob. The fol- 
lowing letter will show that his enemies were not satis- 
fied with merely destroying his press. 

Alton, October 3(1, 18.37. 

Mv DEAR BROTHER LfAVITT, 

1 have just passed through a scene which I 
will try to describe to your readers. 

On Sabbath, I preached for the Rev, Mr. Campbell, 
the Presbyterian minister of St. Charles, with whom I 
had formerly been acquainted, and who had lately ar- 
rived in this place from Wilmington Presbytery, Delu- 
war<\ I preached in the morning, and at night. After 
the audience was dismissed at night, and when all had 



252 MEMOIR OF THE 

left the house but Mr. Campbell, his brother-in-law, Mr.- 
Copes, and myself, a young man came in, and passing 
by me, slipped the following note into my hand : 

" Mr. Lovejoy, 

" Be watchful as you come from church to-night. 

A Friend." 

I showed the note to the two brethren present ; and 
Mr. Campbell invited me to go home with him in con- 
sequence. I declined, however, and in company with 
him and Mr. Copes walked home, but a short distance, 
to my mother-in-law's. Brother Campbell went in with 
me, and Mr. C. passed on. This was about nine o'clock, 
and a very dark night. We received no molestation on 
our way, and the whole matter had passed my mind. 
Brother C. and I had sat conversing for nearly an hour ; 
Mrs. L. had gone to another room and lain down ; her 
mother was with her, having our sick child, while an 
unmarried sister of Mrs. L. was in the room with Mr. C. 
and myself. The rooms thus occupied were on the 
second floor, the first story of the house being tenanted 
as a store. The access to the rooms is by a flight of 
stairs leading up to a portico, on which the doors of the 
several rooms open. 

About ten o'clock, as Mr. Campbell and myself were 
conversing, 1 heard a knocking at the foot of the stairs. 
I took a candle, and opening the door of the room in 
which I sat, to learn the cause, I found that the knock- 
ing had called up Mrs. Lovejoy and her mother, who had 
enquired what was wanted. The answer was, " We 
wanl to see Mr. Lovejoy, is he in." To this I answered 
myself, " Yes, I am here." They immediately rushed 
up to the portico, and two of them coming into the room 
laid hold of me. These two individuals, the name of one 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 253 

was Littler, formerly from Virginia, the other called 
himself a Mississippian, but his name I have not learned, 
though it is known in St. Charles. I asked them what 

they wanted of me. " We want you down stairs, d n 

you," was the reply. They accordingly commenced 
attempting to pull me out of the house. And not suc- 
ceeding immediately, one of them. Littler, began to beat 
me Avith his fists. By this time, Mrs. L. had come into 
the room. In doing so she had to make her way through 
the mob on the portico, who attempted to hinder her 
from coming, by rudely pushing her back, and one " chi- 
valrous" southerner actually drew his dirk upon her. 
Her only reply was to strike him in the face with her 
hand, and then rushing past him, she flew to where I 
was, and throwing her arms around me, boldly faced the 
mobites, with a fortitude and self-devotion which none 
but a woman and a wife ever displayed. While they 
were attempting with oaths and curses to drag me from 
the room, she was smiting them in the face with her 
hands, or clinging to me to aid in resisting their eflbrts, 
and telling them that they must first take her before they 
should have her husband. Her energetic measures, 
seconded by those of her mother and sister, induced the 
assailants to let me go and leave the room. 

As soon as they were gone, Mrs. L.'s powers of en- 
durance failed her, and she fainted. I carried her into 
another room and laid her on the bed. So soon as she 
recovered from her fainting, she relapsed into hysterical 
fits, moaning and shrieking, and calling upon my name, 
alternately. Mrs. L.'s health is at all times extremely 
delicate, and at present peculiarly so, she being some 
months advanced in pregnancy. Her situation at this 
time was truly alarming and distressing. To add to the 
perplexities of the moment, 1 had our sick child in my 
22 



254 MEMOIR OF THE 

arms, taken up from the floor where it had been left by- 
its grandmother, in the hurry and alarm of the first onset 
of the mob. The poor little sufferer, as if conscious of 
danger from the cries of its mother, clung to me in 
silence. In this condition, and white I was endeavour- 
ing to calm Mrs. L.'s dreadfully excited mind, the mob 
returned to the charge, breaking into the room, and rush- 
ing up to the bed-side, again attempting to force me from 
the house. The brutal wretches were totally indifferent 
to her heart-rending cries and shrieks — she was too far 
exhausted to move ; and I suppose they would have suc- 
ceeded in forcing me out, had not my friend William M. 
Campbell, Esq. at this juncture come in, and with un- 
daunted boldness, assisted me in freeing myself from 
their clutches. Mr. Campbell is a southerner, and a 
slaveholder ; but he is a man, and he will please accept 
my grateful thanks for his aid so promptly and so oppor- 
tunely rendered ; others aided in forcing the mob from 
the room, so that the house was now clear a second 
time. 

They did not, however, leave the yard of the house, 
which was full of drunken wretches, uttering the most 
awful and soul-chilling oaths and imprecations, and 
swearing they would have me at all hazards. I could hear 
the epithets, " The infernal scoundrel, the d d amal- 
gamating Abolitionist, we'll have his heart out yet," &c. 
&c. They were armed with pistols and dirks, and one 
pistol was discharged, whether at any person or not, I 
did not know. The fellow from Mississippi seemed the 
most bent on my destruction. He did not appear at all 
drunken, but both in words and actions manifested the 
most fiendish malignity of feeling and purpose. He was 
telling a story to tlic mobiles, which, whether true or 
false, (I know not,) was just calcidaled to madden them. 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 255 

His story was, that his wife had lately been violated by 
a negro. And this he said was all owing to me, who 
had instigated the negro to do the deed. He was a 
ruined man, he said, had just as lief die as not ; but be- 
fore he died he " would have my blood." 

The mob now ruslied up the stairs a third time, and 
one of them, a David Knott, of St. Charles, came in with 
a note signed " A citizen of St. Charles." I regret that 
I have mislaid it. It was short, however, requiring me 
to leave the town the next day at ten o'clock, in the 
morning. 1 told Mr. K. I presumed he expected no an- 
swer to such a note. He said he did not, and immedi- 
ately left the room. As soon as he got out, they set up 
a yrll, as if so many demons had just broken loose from 
hell. I had insulted them, it seems, by not returning an 
answer to their note. My friends now came round me, 
entreating me to send them a written answer. This I 
at tirst declined, but yielding to their urgent advice, I 
took my pencil and wrote as follows : 

" I have already taken my passage in the stage, to 
leave to-morrow morning, at least by nine o'clock. 

Elijah P. Lovejoy." 

This was carried out and read to them, and at first, 
after some pretty violent altercation among themselves, 
seemed to pacify them. They went away, as I supposed 
Ihially. But after having visited the grog-shop, they 
returned with augmented fury and violence. My friends 
in the house, of whom by the way, there were not 
many, now became thoroughly alarmed. They joined in 
advising me to leave the house, and make my escape, 
should an opportunity occur. This I at first absolutely 
declined doing. 1 did so on the principle I had adopted, 



256 MEMOIR OF THE 

of never either seeking or avoiding danger in the way of 
duty. " Should such a man as I flee," has been my sen- 
timent, whether right or wrong. I was at length, how- 
ever, compelled by the united entreaties of them all, and 
especially of my wife, to consent to do so, should oppor- 
tunity olTer. Accordingly, when the efforts of those below 
had diverted the attention of the mob for a few moments. 
1 left the house and went away unperceived. I went up 
the street a few rods, and finding all still, 1 came back 
to reconnoitre, and after looking round awhile, and seeing 
or hearing no enemy, I went back into the house. Here, 
however, so far from being welcomed, I was greeted with 
reproaches in abundance for my temerity, as they called 
it, in venturing back. 

And sure enough, scarcely had I seated myself before 
the mob returned again, as though they scented their 
prey. One man now went down to them, and by il>e 
promise of a dram, led them all away, and I was fain to 
escape, not so much from the mob, as from the reproaches 
of my wife and friends, by leaving the house a second 
time. It was now about midnight. Through the good 
hand of my God upon me, I got away unperceived. I 
walked about a mile to my friend, Maj. Sibley's resi- 
dence. Having called him up and informed him of my 
condition, he kindly furnished me with a horse ; and hav- 
ing rested myself on the sofa an hour or two, for I was 
much exhausted, I rode to Mr. Watson's, anoil)cr friend, 
where I arrived about day-break, four miles from town. 
Here Mrs. L., though exhausted and utterly unfit to 
leave her bed, joined me in the morning, and we came 
home, reaching Alton about noon, meeting with no let or 
hindrance, though Mrs. L. was constantly alarmed with 
apprehensions of pursuit from St. Charles. 

On our arrival in Alton, as we were going to our 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOV. 257 

house, almost the first person we met in the street, was 
one of the very individuals who had first broken into the 
house at St. Charles. Mrs. L. instantly recognized 
him, and at once became greatly alarmed. There was 
tlic more reason for fear, inasmuch as the mob in St. 
Charles had repeatedly declared their determination to 
pursue me, and to have my life, and one of them, the 
fellow from Mississippi, boasted that he was chasing me 
about, and tliat he had assisted to destroy my press in 
Alton. This was the more readily believed, inasmuch 
as it was known that individuals from St. Louis, where 
this Mississippian now temporarily resides, were aiding 
in that work. The mobite from St. Charles also openly 
boasted here of their assault upon me in that place. 

Upon these facts being made known to my friends, 
ihey deemed it advisable that our house should be guarded 
on Monday night. Indeed, this was necessary to quiet 
Mrs. L.'s fears. Though completely exhausted, as may 
well be supposed, from the scenes of the night before, 
she could not rest. The mob haunted her excited imagi- 
nation, causing her continually to start from her moments 
of fitful slumber, with cries of alarm. This continued 
all the afternoon and evening of Monday, and I began to 
entertain serious apprehensions of the consequences. 
As soon, however, as our friends, to the number of ten 
arrived with arms in their hands, her fears subsided, and 
she sank into a comparatively silent sleep, which contin- 
ued through most of the night. It is now Tuesday 
night. I am writing by the bedside of Mrs. L., whose 
excitement and fears have measurably returned with the 
darkness. She is constantly starting at every sound, 
while her mind is full of the horrible scenes through which 
she has so lately passed. What the final result will be 
for her I know not, but hope for the best. We have no 
22» 



25S MEMOIR OF THE 

one with us lo-night, except the members of our own 
family. A loaded musket is standing at my bed-side, 
while my two brothers, in an adjoining room, have three 
others, together with pistols, cartridges, &c. And this 
is the way we live in the city of Alton ! I have had in- 
expressible reluctance to resort to this method of defence. 
But dear-bought experience has taught me that there is 
at present no safety for me, and no defence in this place, 
either in the laws or the protecting cegis of public senti- 
ment. I feel that I do not walk the streets in safety, and 
every night when I lie down, it is with the deep settled 
conviction, that there are those near me and around me, 
who seek my life. I have resisted this conviction as 
long as I could, but it has been forced upon me. Even 
were I safe from my enemies in Alton, my proximity to 
Missouri exposes me to attack from that state. And now 
that it is known that I am to receive no protection here, 
the way is open for them to do with me what they please. 
Accordingly a party of them from St. Louis came up and 
assisted in destroying my press, the first time. This 
was well known. They came armed and stationed 
themselves behind a wall for the purpose of firing upon 
any one who might attempt to defend the office. Yet 
who of this city has rebuked this daring outrage on the 
part of citizens of our state and city, upon the rights and 
person of the citizens of another state and city ? No 
one. I mean there has been no public expression of 
opinion on the subject. Our two political papers have 
been silent, or if speaking at all, have thrown the blame 
on me rather than on any one else. And if you go 
through the streets of Alton, or into stores and shops, 
where you hear one condemning these outrages upon me, 
you will find live approving them. This is true, both of 
professor and non -professor. 1 have no doubts that four- 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 259 

fifths of the inhabitants of this city are glad tliat my 
press has been destroyed by a mob, both once and 
again. They hate mobs, it is true, but they hate Aboli- 
tionism a great deal more. Whether creditable to them 
or not, this is the state of public sentiment among oiir 
citizens. A leading member of the Presbyterian church 
here, disclosed to me, in the presence of fifteen or twenty 
persons, that if tlie " Observer" were re-established here, 
he would do nothing to protect it from a mob again. A 
leading merchant here, and a Methodist minister, said 
the same thing, at the same time. Most of our leading 
men, whether in church or state, lay the blame all on me. 

So far from calling the acts of the mob outrages, they 
go about the streets, saying in the hearing of every body, 
" Mr. Lovejoy has no one to thank but himself." Of 
course the mob desire no better license than this. 

The pulpit, with but one exception, is silent. Brother 
Graves was absent at the time of the first outrage. But 
since his return he has taken hold of the work with 
characteristic boldness and zeal. There is no cowardice 
in him, no shrinking from duty through fear of man. I 
wish I could say as much of our other pastors. Brother 
G. has told his people their duty faithfully and fearlessly. 
Whether they will hear him I know not, but he has 
cleared his skirts. 

And now, my dear brother, if you ask what are my 
own feelings at a time like this, I answer, perfectly calm, 
perfectly resigned. Though in the midst of danger, I 
have a constant sense of security that keeps me alike 
from fear or anxiety. " Thou wilt keep him in perfect 
peace, whose mind is stayed on thee, because he trust- 
eth in thee." This promise I feel has been literally 
fulfilled unto me. I read the promises of the Bible, and 
especially the Psalms, with a delight, a refreshing of soul 



260 MEMOIR OF THE REV. E. P. LOVEJOV. 

I never knew before. Some persons here call me cou- 
rageous, and others pronounce me stubborn ; but I feci 
and know I am neither one nor the other. That I am 
enabled to continue firm in the midst of all my trials, is 
all of God. Let no one give me any credit, for it. I 
disclaim it. 1 should feel that I were robbing Him, if 
even in thought, I should claim the least share to myself. 
He has said, " As thy day is, so shall thy stength be," 
and he has made his promise good. To him be all the 
praise. Pray for me. 

We have a few excellent brethren here in Alton. 
They are sincerely desirous to know their duty in this 
crisis, and to do it. But as yet they cannot see that duty 
requires them to maintain their cause here at all hazards. 
Our Convention meets the last Thursday of this month. 
And of this be assured, the cause of truth still lives in Il- 
linois, and will not want defenders. Whether our paper 
starts again will depend on our friends, East, West, 
North, and South. So far as depends on me it shall go. 
By the blessing of God, I will never abandon the enter- 
prise so long as I live, and until success has crowned it. 
And there are those in Illinois who join me in this sen- 
timent. And if I am to die it cannot be in a better cause. 
Yours in the cause of truth and holiness, 

ELIJAH P. LOVEJOY. 



CHAPTER XIV. 



Though cast down our brother was not destroyed. 
And notwithstanding the many discouragements which 
surrounded him, about the middle of October he sent for 
another press. Three, as will be recollected, had already 
been destroyed. One on his arrival, on the 21st of July, 
1836, one on the 21st of August, 1837, and one on the 
21st of September following. This last press he sent 
for on his own account, and at that time had not deter- 
mined where it should be established. And here it will 
be proper to say a word in explanation of his " wish and 
determination" to leave Alton, as there has been some 
misapprehension on this point. His own judgment of 
the matter was always, that the press ought to remain at 
Alton, and be maintained there at all hazards. At the 
same time he thought it a sinful waste of property, to 
bring presses there to be thrown into the Mississippi, 
and consequently if friends remained idle and indifferent, 
and foes vigilant and active, it must of course be removed 
to some other place. His friends in Quincy were waiting 
to welcome and protect his press, and he felt disposed 
to go there, provided a sufficient number of friends could 
not be found in Alton to sustain it. We speak confi- 
dently on this subject, as one of us was with our brother 
at this time, and remember to have had a full and free 
conversation on this very point, viz., the unpleasant atti- 
tude of an individual placed in direct opposition to a 
larL'e portion of his fellow-citizens, and the duty of 
maintaining it. And the conclusion was, that a fair ex- 



262 MEMOIR OF THE 

periment had been made as to the protection to be ex- 
pected from the civil auiliorities, and that unless volun- 
teers appeared in the defence of the laws, it would be a 
hopeless contest. These conversations always ended 
by our brother's remarking, " Well we shall see when 
the Convention meets." 

On the third week of this month, October, the Synod 
of Illinois held its annual session at Springfield. Here 
the Editor of the Observer had an opportunity of seeing 
his brethren from all parts of the state, and was greatly 
inspirited, and refreshed by the words of encouragement, 
and approbation which they spake unto him. 

In mentioning the adverse induences which were at 
this time operating against the Anti-Slavery cause, and 
more or less directly against the Editor of the " Obser- 
ver" as the organ or representative of that cause, it will 
be proper to mention a meeting of the Colonization So- 
ciety of Upper Alton, on Tuesday before the Anti-Slave- 
ry Convention, which was to meet on the Thursday fol- 
lowing at the same place. The history of this meeting is 
as follows : A few days previous, one of the most active 
members of this Society — wliich by the way had been 
dead for several years, accosted a very respectable 
lawyer of that town, and asked him if he would attend 
an anti-convention meeting and make a speech. The 
lawyer replied with some warmth and indignation, that 
if they would get up an anti-mob meeting, he would at- 
tend, and make a speech. In consequence of -this an- 
swer, as it is supposed, they concluded to have a Colo- 
nization meeting. Mutato nomine^ idem manct. 

The Speakers were Hon. Cyrus Edwards, and J. M. 
Peck of .\lton, and the Rev. Joel Parker of Now Orleans. 
Mr. Parker represented the Abolitionists as bustling 
round with a great deal of ardour but with little discre- 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOy. 2G3 

tion, and less wisdom, trying willi all their might to get 
a lever under what they considered a great mass of cor- 
ruption, in order to remove it at once. But like the Gre- 
cian philosopher they could find no stand point. Con- 
sequently their ellbrts were vain. lie said, moreover, 
that owing to our associations, we could not respect the 
black man in this country. As an illustration he said, 
an Irish nobleman, might have a servant who should pay 
him almost as much reverence as a slave does his mas- 
ter. She might be amiable, alFectionate, and faithful, and 
secure the love of her master, but he would not respect 
her. " Now," adds Mr. P. " by some unexpected turn 
of fortune, let this same servant become possessed of 
wealth, and let her marry a peer of the land, and be on 
terms of social intercourse and equality with her former 
master, and then he will begin to respect her." So, he con- 
tinued, it is with the black man. Let him go to Africa, and 
let us think of him as associated with that country, and 
we shall begin to respect him. And he said he once 
actually knew a slave, who went to Africa with the name 
of Dick, — breathed the salubrious air of that climate, cast 
his slough, and cnmc back Mr. Jones. " Now," says 
Mr. P., "this prejudice may be wrong, but so it is, and 
we must act on it." He was followed by Mr. Peck, wlio 
charged the Abolitionists as being amalgamators, and of 
using abusive and unwarrantable epithets in regard to 
slaveholders, together with all those other cluirges so 
frequently preferred against them. 

On Thursday the 2Gth of October the state Conven- 
tion met. Att(>ntion to this subject had been invited in 
an editorial article in the " Observer" of the 29th of June, 
which has already boon inserted. 

The Editor of the " Observer" was not the first 
mover in this matter. He had received several letters 



264 MEMOIR OF THE 

from aged and judicious friends, suggesting the propriety 
of such a movement, and asking whether it was not 
time to make it. Some of these letters were received as 
early as the preceding spring. The first call, as has 
been seen, was definite and specific. Subsequently, in 
order to unite all good men, among whom there was 
some difference of opinion as to measures, a somewhat 
modified call was sent forth on an extra sheet of the 
" Obsener." This call spoke of the importance of the 
subject of Slavery, the impossibility of remaining idle 
spectators in a moral contest which was agitating our 
country, and requesting those who " earnestly longed, 
and prayed for the immediate abolition of Slavery" to 
meet in Convention, for the benefit of mutual discussion 
and deliberation ; not feeling themselves pledged there- 
by, to any definite mode of action. This was the sub- 
stance of the call. It was signed by about two hundred 
and fifty persons from different parts of the state. 

The delegates having convened in the Presbyterian 
Church in Upper Alton, were called to order, and the 
venerable Dr. Blackburn chosen Chairman. When the 
motion for Rev. Mr. Graves to be temporary clerk, was 
put, several voices cried out " no." These were from 
individuals who came in to disturb, and if possible to in- 
terrupt the doings of the Convention. Althonph the 
regular members of the Convention, at this time, out- 
numbered the others, the Chair not knowing the exact 
slate of tilings, did not declare the vole in the afiirma- 
tive. After this a desultory, and to some extent an an- 
gry and disorderly debate took place, which continued 
all the afternoon. At the commencement of the disturb- 
ance, the Editor of the " Observer" arose, stating the 
object for which they had met; that individuals from 
various parts of the state had come there, having been 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 265 

invited so to do, to discuss the subject of Slaver}', and 
declaring that none, save those who entertained similar 
views to those embodied in the call, had any right to a 
seat in the Convcnliou ; asking them whether they could 
as gentlemen, come in and interrupt a meeting called for 
a specific purpose. Upon this, the reading of the call 
sent forth by himself, and also a subsequent one publish- 
ed by president Beecher, over his own name in one of 
the papers of that place, was called for.* 

When these calls had been read, the mob, through 
their chief speaker, declared that they responded to 
them, that they were friends of free discussion, nay 
courted it, — that they wished to meet the Abolitionists in 
fair and open tield, argument with argument, fact with 
fact, reason with reason. All this seemed very fair : 
but mark the sequel. The afternoon of that day, Thurs- 
day, having been spent in this manner, they adjourned, 
without even organizing the meeting, to nine o'clock next 
morning. They met according to adjournment. The 
chairman then declared the doings of the meeting on 
the previous day as out of order, read the call to which 
two hundred and fifty names were attached, and de- 
clared that the test of membership, and that all who 
wo*ild subscribe to it should be considered as members 
of the Convention. Individuals present who wished, 
then signed their names, including not a few who were 
known to be opposed to immediate abolition. The Con- 



* It will be proper to mention here, that Mr. B.'s name was attached 
to the first cull, but that, as he stated in his note alluded to, it did 
not combine all the points which he expected it would, and especially 
as to the invitation, which he wished extended to all friends of the 
free discussion of the siibjoct of Slavery ; to this there was no ob- 
jrrlion, save that it was feared that the mob taking advantage of this 
invitation would come in and claim seats. 

23 



266 MEMOIR OF THE 

vention was then organized by the election of Dr. Black- 
burn for president, together with two secretaries. The 
forenoon was spent in organizing and adopting rules of 
debate, and appointing a committee of three to prepare 
resolutions for discussion. This committee consisted of 
Rev. Mr. Beecher, Rev. Mr. Turner, and Mr. Linder, 
who were to report in the afternoon. 

It was acreed in the committee room that there should 

o 

be but one report, although they were not agreed on all 
the resolutions ; and that the chairman of the committee 
should state to the Convention, the resolutions on which 
they all agreed, and those which the majority and minor- 
ity severally reported. This he did, and tlie report was 
accepted. The question was on its adoption. A motion 
was then made, which in reality divided the reports, 
namely, that the report of the minority, Mr. Linder, re- 
presenting the Anti-Abolition part of the house, should 
be adopted. This vote was carried. A motion was 
then made that the report of the majority be also adopted. 
On this motion, the Rev. Mr. Ilogan contended, that, by 
adopting the minority's report, they had virtually re- 
jected that of the majority, and it was so decided. One 
of the resolutions was then discussed through the re- 
mainder of the day, and carried. It should be men- 
tioned that throughout the whole day, runners had been 
on the alert to obtain signers to the call. A great many 
had thus become npembers of the Convenlion, who had 
no definite notion what they were about. In fact, as 
their conduct imported, they were "certain lewd fellows 
of the baser sort, men of Belial." With these the open 
space around the door, and a part of the aisles were 
crowded. So that after the adoption of the one resolu- 
tion which had been discussed, a motion was made to 



REV, E. P. LOVEJOY. 267 

adjourn without day, which was carried by acclamation ! 
This was the free discussion which they desired ! 

Thus ballled, those who had come there in good faith, 
agreed to meet the next day at a private house, to form a 
State Anti-Slavery Society, no doubt now existing as to 
the propriety of such a measure. This they did. This 
meeting was composed of some of the most piousTlind 
respected, and judicious men, ministers and laymen, in 
the state. And here the question whether the " Obser- 
ver" should be re-established at Alton or not, was fully 
discussed. Dr. Miles, a gentleman from Cincinnati, 
said that it was all important that it should maintain its 
stand there ; otherwise, he feared that the tide of vio- 
lence and outrage, which had flowed from the East, 
would again How back ; and it was decided that it ought 
to remain at that place. This vote was unanimous, with 
the exception of one or two from Alton, who thought that 
it could not be maintained there. The Editor voted for 
its continuance ; and it is proper to state that he was 
chosen Corresponding Secretary of the State Society. 

The next week another colonization meeting was held, 
in the Lower Town, at which much the same doctrines 
were advanced as at the previous one, and by the same 
speakers. The Rev. Mr. Parker declared it an un- 
christian thing to go into a community and promulgate 
doctrines which were calculated to excite that commu- 
nity, and that he should consider it his duty to refrain 
from speaking on any subject calculated to disturb, and 
agitate a people. (^This was on the last day of October. 
During this week several meetings of friends were held, 
at one of which President Beecher discussed, with much 
ability the propriety and duty of defending the press, 
which was now daily expected, by physical force. This 
is not the place for his arq-uments. He declared, how 



268 BIEMOIR OF THE 

ever, that he would enlist as a common soldier in de- 
fence of the luw, and in protection of the press : and 
some who had been inclnied toward the extreme " peace 
principles," as they are called, were convinced that there 
is, and of right ought to be, such a thing as civil govern- 
ment ; and that the " powers that be are ordained of 
God," and consequently they became willing to maintain 
them. 

On the 2d and 3d of November, meetings were ludd, 
which in their results and influence assume an import- 
ance and interest which otherwise would not belong to 
them. They may with propriety be considered the star 
chamber, where the death warrant of our brother was 
signed, and put into the hands of the mob for its execution. 
It was not a meeting of the rabble. Christians, and Chris- 
tian ministers were there. Men who stand high in the es- 
timation of their fellow-citizens, and in many respects de- 
servedly so. Had they planted themselves on the law 
and the right, the " damned spots" which now stain their 
hands, and will not " out" had not been there. 

But we give the proceedings, merely premising that 
the meeting originated with the enemies of the " Obser- 
ver," though some of its friends were invited to attend. 

PUBLIC MEETING. 

'• At a large and respectable meeting of the citizens of 
the city of Alton, held at the counting-room of Messrs. 
John Hogan tt Co., on Thur»<lay afternoon, Nov. 2d, 
1837 ; Samuel (i. Bailey, Esq. was called to the chair, 
and William F. D' Wolf appointed secretary. 

Mr. Hogan then announced tlie object of the meeting 
to be, to take into consid«>ration the present excited 
state of public sentiment in thi^ city, growing out of the 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOy. 269 

discussion of the Abolition question ; and to endeavour 
to (ind some common ground, on wliich botli parlies 
miglit meet for the restoration of liarmony and good fel- 
lowship by mutual concession — expressing a fervent wish 
that so desirable an object might be carried into effect. 

He was followed by the Rev. Edward Beecher, of 
Jacksonville, who stated that the proposal of such a 
meeting h:ul originated from Mr. Ilogan, and that it had 
been deemed advisable by him and by Mr. Gilman, that 
the following resolutions, should be laid before the meet- 
ing for their consideration. 

1. Rcsulvcd, That the free communication of thoughts 
and opinions, is one of the invaluable rights of man ; and 
that every citizen may freely speak, write, and print on 
any subject, being responsible for the abuse of that liberty. 

2. Resolved, That the abuse of this right is the only 
legal ground for restraining its use. 

3. Resolved, That the question of abuse must be de- 
cided solely by a regular civil court, and in accordance 
with the law ; and not by an irresponsible and unorgani- 
zed portion of the community, be it great or small. 

4. Resolved J For restraining what the law will not 
reach, we are to depend solely on argument and moral 
means, aided by the controling influences of the spirit of 
God ; and that these means, appropriately used, furnish 
an amj)le defence against all ultimate prcvalmce of false 
principles and unhealthy excitement. 

5. Resolved, That where discussion is tree and unre- 
strained, and proper me:(ns are used, the triumph of the 
truth is certain ; and that with the triumph of truth th*^ 
return of peace is sure ; but that all attempts to check or 
prohibit discussion, will cause a daily increase of excite- 
ment, until such checks or prohibitions are removed. 

6. Resolved, That our maintenance of these principles 

23» 



270 MEMOIR OF THE 

should be independent of all regard to persons or senti- 
ments. 

7. Resolved, That we are more especially called on 
to maintain them in case of unpopular sentiments or per- 
sons ; as in no other cases will any effort to maintain 
them be needed. 

8. Resolved, That these principles demand the pro- 
tection of the Editor and of the press of the ' Alton Ob- 
server,' on grounds of principle solely, and altogether 
disconnected with approbation of his sentiments, personal 
character, or course, as Editor of the paper. 

9. Resolved, That on these grounds alone, and irres- 
pective of all political, moral, or religious differences, 
but solely as American citizens, from a sacred regard to 
the great principles of civil society, to the welfare of our 
country, to the reputation and honour of our city, to our 
own dearest rights and privileges, and those of our 
children, we will protect the press, the property, and the 
Editor of the * Alton Observer,' and maintain him in the 
free exercise of his rights, to print and publish whatever 
he pleases, in obedience to the supreme laws of the 
land, and under the guidance and direction of the consti- 
tuted civil authorities, he being responsible for the abuse 
of this liberty only to the laws of the land. " 

The meeting was then addressed at some length by 
Mr. Linder, in opposition to the resolutions ; after which 
Mr. llayden moved that the resolutions be laid on the 
table. At the sugj^estion of Mr. Ilogan and Col. IJotkin, 
this motion was subsequently withdrawn by the mover ; 
when Mr. llogan moved that the resolutions be referred 
to a committee, with instructions to report at an adjourned 
meeting. This motion was agreed to ; and, it being or- 
dered that said committee should consist of seven gentle- 
men, to be nominated by the chair, the Hon. Cyrus 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 271 

Edwards, and Messrs. John Hogan, Stephen Griggs, U. 
F. Linder, H. G. V^an Wagcnen, Thos. G. Ilawley, and 
Winthrop S. Gilinan, were appointed. 

Mr. Linder then ollered the following resolution, 
which was agreed to : 

Rcsolccil, u/t(inimoit.slt/, hy this meeting, That in the 
interim between the adjournment and re-assembling 
hereof, if any infraction of the peace be attempted by 
any party or set of men in this community, we will aid to 
the utmost of our power in the maintenance of the laws." 

The meeting then adjourned to meet at the court room, 
on Friday the 3d inst., at two o'clock, P. M. 

Frnlaij, Nov. 3d,— 2 o'clock, P. M. 

" The citizens met, pursuant to adjournment : and the 
meeting being called td order by the chairman, Mr. 
Linder offered the following resolution, which was unan- 
imously agreed to without debate : — 

Resolved, That this meeting shall be composed exclu- 
sively of the citizens of Madison County ; and that it is 
requested that none others shall vote or take part in the 
discussion of any subject that may be offered for their 
consideration ; but all persons in attendance, other than 
citizens, will consider themselves as welcome specta- 
tors.* 

The Hon. Cyrus Edwards, from the committee ap- 
pointed at the previous meeting, then made the following 
report ; which was read : 

* The committee appointed to take under consideration 
certain resolutions submitted at our last meeting, beg 
leave to report : that they have given to those resolu- 
tions a deliberate and candid examination, and are con- 

•Mr. Beecher resides in Morgan County. Hence the resolution. — Eds. 



272 MEMOIR OF THE 

Strained to say that, however they may approve their 
general spirit, they do not consider them, as a whole, 
suited to the exigency which has called together the 
citizens of Alton. It is notorious, that fearful excite- 
ments have grown out of collisions of sentiment between 
two great parties on the subject, and that these excite- 
ments have led to excesses on both sides deeply to be 
deplored. Too much of crimination and recrimination 
have been indulged. On the one hand, the Anti-Aboli- 
tionists have been charged with a heartless cruelty, a 
reckless disregard of the rights of man, and an insidious 
design, under deceptive pretexts, to perpetuate the foul 
stain of Slavery. They have been loaded with many 
and most opprobrious epithets, such as pirates, man- 
stealers, &c. &c. On the other hand, the Abolitionists 
have been too indiscriminatelv* denounced as violent dis- 
turbers of the good order of society, willfully incendiary 
and disorganizing in their spirit, wickedly prompting 
servile insurrections, and traitorously encouraging in- 
fractions of the constitution, tending to disunion, violence 
and bloodshed. These uncharitable impeachments of 
motives have led to an appalling crisis, demanding of 
every good citizen the exertion of his utmost inlluence 
to arrest all acts of violence, and to restore harmony to 
our once peaceful and prosperous, but now distracted 
city. It is not to be disguised, that parties are now or- 
ganizing and arming for a conflict, which may terminate 
in a train of mournful consequences. Under such cir- 
cumstances, have we been convened. And your com- 
mittee are satisfied that nothing short of a generous for- 
bearance, a mild spirit of conciliation, and a yielding 
compromise of conflicting claims, can compose the ele- 
ments of discord, and restore quiet to this agitated com- 
munity. They are, therefore, forced to regard the reso- 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 273 

lutions under consideration as falling short of the great 
end in view ; as demanding too much of concession on 
the one side, without equivalent concession on the other. 
Neither party can be expected to yield every thing, and 
to acknowledge themselves exclusively in the wrong. In 
this there is no compromise. There must be a mutual 
sacrifice of prejudices, opinions, and interests, to ac- 
complish the desired reconciliation — such a sacrifice 
as led to the adoption of the great charier of Ameri- 
can freedom ; which has secured to ourselves, and 
which promises a continuance to our posterity, of the 
blessed fruits of peace, prosperity and union. Whilst, 
therefore, we fully amj freely recognize the justness of 
the principles engrafted upon our constitutions, that the 
free communication of thoughts and opinions is one of 
the invaluable rights of man, and that every citizen may 
freely speak, write, and print on any subject, being re- 
sponsible for the abuse of that liberty ; that the abuse of 
this right is the only legal ground for restraining its use ; 
that the question of abuse must be decided solely by a 
regular civil court, and in accordance with the law, and 
not by an irresponsible and unorganized portion of the 
community, be it great or small — your committee would, 
with earnest importunity, urge as a means of allaying 
the acrimony of parly strife, the unanimous adoption of 
the following preamble and resolutions : 

Whereas, it is of the utmost importance that peace, 
harmony, order, and a due regard to law, should be re- 
stored to our distracted community ; and whereas, in all 
cases of conflicting opinions about rights and privilojros. 
each party should yield something in tlie spirit and form 
of compromise : Therefore, 

1- Resolved, That a strong confidence is entertamed 
that our citizens will abstain from all undue excitements, 



274 MEMOIR OF THE 

discountenance every act of violence to person or pro- 
perty, and cherish a sacred regard for the great principles 
contained in our Bill of Rights. 

2. Resulvi'd, That it is apparent to all good citizens, 
that the exigencies of the place require a course of mode- 
ration in relation to the discussion of principles in them- 
selves deemed right, and of the highest importance ; and 
that it is no less a dictate of duty than expediency to 
adopt such a course in the present crisis. 

3. Resolved, That so far as your committee have 
possessed the means of ascertaining the sense of the 
community, in relation to the establishment of a religious 
newspaper, such a course would, at a suitable time, and 
under the influence of judicious proprietors and editors, 
contribute to the cause of religion and good citizenship, 
and promote the prosperity of the city and country. 

4. Resolved, That while there appears to be no dis- 
position to prevent the liberty of free discussion, through 
the medium of the press or otherwise, as a general thing ; 
it is deemed a matter indispensable to the peace and 
harmony of this community that the labours and influence 
of the late Editor of the ' Observer' be no longer iden- 
tified with any newspaper establishment in this city. 

5. Resolved, That whereas it has come to the know- 
ledge of your committee that the late Editor of the ' Ob- 
server' has voluntarily proposed to the proprietors and 
stockholders of the ' Alton Observer,' to relinquish his 
interest and connection with that paper, if, in the opinion 
of his friends, that course were expedient ; your com- 
mittee consider that such a course would highly con- 
tribute to the peace and harmony of the place, and indi- 
cate on the part of the friends of the * Observer,' a dis- 
position to do all in their power to restore the city to its 
accustomed harmony and quiet. 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 275 

6. Resolved, That we would not be understood as 
reflecting in the slightest degree upon the private charac- 
ter or motives of the late Editor of the ' Alton Obser- 
ver,' by any thing contained in the foregoing resolutions." 

Mr. Linder then look the floor, in support and expla- 
nation of the views taken by the committee, and urged 
the adoption of the resolutions reported by them Mith 
much earnestness. When he closed his remarks, Win- 
throp S. Gilman, Esq., one of the committee, handed the 
following protest against some of the sentiments express- 
ed in the report ; which he desired should be made a 
part of the record of the meeting. 

W. S. Gilman, from the committee, protested against 
so much of the report as is contained in the resolutions ; 
allcdging it as his opinion, that the rigid enforcement of 
the law would prove the only sure protection of the rights 
of citizens, and the only safe remedy for similar excite- 
ments in future. 

^ The Rev. E. P. Lovejoy, Editor of the ' Observer,' 
here addressed the meeting at some length, in a speech 
declaratory of his right, under the Constitution of this 
state, to print and publish his opinions, and of his deter- 
mination to stand on this right, and abide the conse- 
quences, under a solemn sense of duty. 

He was followed by Mr. Hogan, who took a wholly 
diflerent view of the subject ; and contended that it was 
the duty of Mr. Lovejoy, as a Christian and patriot, to 
abstain from the exercise of some of his abstract rights 
under existing circumstances. In the course of his re- 
marks, the former referred to the pledge said to have 
been publicly given by the latter, when he first came to 
Alton ; and observed, that at that time he most certainly 
did understand Mr. Ij. to say, that, inasmuch as he had 
left a slaveholding state, and had come to reside in a free 



276 MEMOIR OF THE 

State, he did not conceive it his duty to advocate the 
cause of emancipation, and did not intend doing so. 

The Rev. F. VV. Graves then rose in explanation ; 
and asked Mr. Hogan whether Mr. Lovejoy did not, at 
the time referred to, distinctly state that he yielded none 
of his rights, to discuss any subject which he saw fit. 
Mr. Hogan replying in the affirmative, Mr. G. proceeded 
to remark, that when Mr. L. arrived in this city, he en- 
tertained the views attributed to him by the gentleman 
who had just taken his seat ; that a change had subse- 
quently taken place in his opinions ; and that, at a cer- 
tain meeting of the friends of the * Observer,' he (Mr. L.) 
had made known this alteration in his sentiments, and 
asked advice whether it was best to come out in public 
on the subject. That, under the circumstances of the 
case, it was deemed most proper to let the paper go on 
— there then being no excitement in the public mind. 
Mr. G. next alluded to the present excited state of the 
popular feeling ; and said that the friends of the ' Ob- 
server' had lately received communications from all parts 
of the country, and even from Kentucky, Missouri, and 
Mississippi, urging the necessity of re-establishing the 
press. 

Mr. Linder followed in reply ; and said he now un- 
derstood the whole matter. It was a question, whether 
the interest and feelings of the citizens of Alton should 
be consulted ; or whether we were to be dictated to by 
foreigners, who cared nothing but for the gratification of 
their own inclinations, and the establishment of certain 
abstract principles, which no one, as a general thing, 
ever thought of questioning. He concluded his remarks 
by oflering the following resolution. 

Resolved, That the discussion of the doctrines of im- 
mediate Abolitionism, as they have been discussed in the 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 277 

columns of the * Alton Observer,' would be destructive 
of the peace and harmony of the citizens of Alton, and 
that, therefore, we cannot recommend the re-establish- 
ment of that paper, or any other of a similar character, 
and conducted with a like spirit. 

The resolution having been read, Mr. Edwards rose, 
and expressed the hope that its adoption would not be 
pressed at this moment. lie dwelt with great earnest- 
ness and elVect on the importance of calmness in our de- 
liberations ; and trusted that the present meeting would 
be productive of good to the community. The resolution 
was then laid on the table. 

Judge Hawley then made a few very eloquent and ap- 
propriate remarks, on the subject for which this meeting 
had been called : and concluded by offering the follow- 
ing preamble and resolution ; which were read, and laid 
on the table for the present. 

Whereas, great and general excitement has for some 
time past prevailed witli the people of the city of Alton, 
in relation to the publication of the doctrines of Aboli- 
tion, as promulgated by Mr. E. P. Lovejoy, in a paper 
called the ' Alton Observer ;' and whereas, as a conse- 
quence of tliat excitement, personal violence has been 
resorted to in the destruction of said press : Therefore, 

Resolved, That whilst we decidedly disapprove of the 
doctrines, as put forth by the said Lovejoy, as subversive 
of the great principles of our union, and of the prosperity 
of our young and growing city, we at the same time as 
decidedly disapprove of all unlawful violence. 

The question on agreeing to the report of the com- 
mittee was then called for ; and, on motion of Mr. Ho- 
gan, the resolutions being taken up separately, were seve- 
rally disposed of as follows : resolutions 1, 2, and 4, were 
agreed to unanimously ; and resolutions 3, 5, and 6, were 
21 



278 MEMOIR OF THE 

Stricken out. The report, as amended, was then agreed 
to. 

The rcsohition oflered by Mr. Linder, and laid on the 
table, was then taken np, and agreed to ; as was also 
that subsequently introduced by Judge Hawley, after 
striking out the preamble from the latter. 

Mr. Krum then offered the following resolution ; which 
was also agreed to. 

Resolved, That as citizens of Alton, and the friends of 
order, peace, and constitutional law, we regret that per- 
sons and editors from abroad have seen proper to interest 
themselves so conspicuously in the discussion and agita- 
tion of a question, in which our city is made the princi- 
pal theatre." 

The meeting then adjourned, sine dir. 

SAM'L G. BAILEY, Chairman. 

W. F. D'WoLF, Secretary. 

These proceedings speak for themselves. Some of 
the speeches were of a most violent kind, attacking not 
only Abolition, but religion and its ministers. It will be 
seen that by rejecting the third resolution, they virtually 
declared that no religious paper would l)e tolerated, al- 
though under the management of "judicious proprietors 
and editors," and started at a " proper time." 

The remarks of our brother referred to in the doings 
of the meeting, were as follows, 

Having obtained the floor, he went to the desk in front 
of the assembly, and said : 

" Mr. Chairman — it is not true, as has been charged 
upon nic, that 1 hold in contempt the feelings and senti- 
ments of this community, in reference to the question 
which is now acitating it. I respect and appreciate the 
feelings and opinions of my fellow-citizens, and it is one 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 279 

of the most painful and unpleasant duties of my life, that 
1 am called upon to act in opposition to them. If you 
suppose, sir, that 1 have published sentiments contrary 
to those gcneraliy held in this community, because I de- 
lighted in diil'ering from them, or in occasioning a dis- 
turbance, you have entirely misapprehended me. But, 
sir, while I value the good opinion of my fellow-citizens, 
as highly as any one, I may be permitted to say. that I 
am governed by higher considerations than either the 
favour or the fear of man. I am impelled to the course 
I have taken, because I fear God. As I shall answer it 
to my God in the great day, I dare not abandon my sen- 
timents, or cease in all proper ways to propagate them. 

" I, Mr. Chairman, have not desired, or asked any 
compromise. I Ivive asked for nothing but to be pro- 
tected in my rights as a citizen — rights which God has 
given me, and which are guaranteed to me by the con- 
stitution of my country. Have I, sir, been guilty of any 
infraction of the laws ? Whose good name have I in- 
jured? When and where have I published any thing 
injurious to the reputation of Alton 1 Have I not, on the 
other hand, laboured, in common, with the rest of my 
fellow-citizens, to promote the reputation and interests of 
this city ? What, sir, I ask, has been my oftencc ? Put 
your finger upon it — define it — and I stand ready to an- 
swer for it. If I have committed any crime, you can easily 
convict me. You have public sentiment in your favour. 
You have your juries, and you have your attorney, (look- 
ins? at the Attorney-General,) anJ I have no doubt you 
can convict me. But if I have been guilty of no viola- 
lion of law^ why am I hunted up and down continually 
like a partridoe upon the mountains ? Why am I threat- 
ened with the tar-barrel? Why am I waylaid every 



280 MEMOIR OF THE 

day, and from night to night, and my life in jeopardy 
every hour ? 

" You have, sir, made up, as the lawyers say, a false 
issue ; there are not two parties between whom there 
can be a compromise. 1 plant myself, sir, down on my 
unquestionable rights, and the question to be decided is, 
whether I shall be protected in the exercise, and enjoy- 
ment of those rights — that is the question, sir ; — whether 
my property shall be protected, whether I shall be suf- 
fered to go home to my family at night without being 
assailed, and threatened with tar and feathers, and as- 
sassination ; whether my afllicted wife, whose life has 
been in jeopardy, from continued alarm and excitement, 
shall night after night be driven from a sick bed into the 
garret to save her life from the brickbats and violence 
of the mobs ; that sir, is the question." Here, much af- 
fected and overcome by his feelings, he burst into tears. 
Many, not excepting even his enemies, wept — several 
sobbed aloud, and the sympathies of the whole meeting 
were deeply excited. He continued. "Forgive me, 
sir, that I have thus betrayed my weakness. It was the 
allusion to my family that overcame my feelings. Not, 
sir, I assure you, from any fears on my part. I have no 
personal fears. Not that I feel able to contest the mat- 
ter with the whole community, I know perfectly well I 
am not. I know, sir, that you can tar and feather me, 
hang me up, or put me into the Mississippi, without the 
least dilliculty. Hut what then ? Where shall I go ? I 
have been made to feel tlial if I am not safe at Alton, I 
sIihII not be safe any wher«\ I recently visited St. 
Charles to bring home my family, and was torn from 
their frantic embrace by a mob. I have been beset night 
and day at Alton. And now if I leave here and go else- 
where, violence may overtake me in my retreat, and I 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY- 281 

have no more claim upon the protection of any other com- 
munity than I have upon this ; and I have concluded, after 
consultation with my friends, and earnestly seeking 
counsel of God, to remain at Alton, and here to insist on 
protection in the exercise of my rights. If the civil au- 
thorities refuse to protect me, I must look to God ; and 
if 1 die, I have determined to make my grave in Alton." 

A writer who was present, after giving the substance 
of these remarks, observes : 

" His manner — but I cannot attempt to describe it. He 
was calm and serious, but firm and decided. Not an epi- 
thet or unkind allusion escaped his lips, notwithstanding 
he knew he was in the midst of those who were seeking 
his blood, and notwithstanding he was well aware of the 
influence that that meeting, if it should not take the right 
turn, would have in infuriating the mob to do their work. 
He and his friends had prayed earnestly that God would 
overrule the deliberations of that meeting for good. He 
had been all day communing with God. His counte- 
nance, the subdued tones of his voice, and whole ap- 
pearance indicated a mind in a peculiarly heavenly frame, 
and ready to acquiesce in the will of God, whatever that 
might be. I confess to you, sir, that I regarded him at 
the time, in view of all the circumstances, as presenting 
a spectacle of moral sublimity, such as I had never be- 
fore witnessed, and such as the world seldom aflbrds. It 
reminded me of Paul before Festus, and of Luther at 
Worms." 

The press was now daily expected. Consequently 
there was no little excitement and anxiety. As soon as 
the purt'of a boat was heard, tlie friends started for the 
landing-place to receive and protect it. The mob were 
no less vigilant, and had declared that it should be de- 
stroyed at the landing. One of their number was sta- 



282 MEMOIR OF THE 

tioned at St. Louis — where all the boats touch on their 
way up the river, to ascertain when it arrived. A friend 
also remained there for about a week waiting its arrival, 
and prepared to act in concert with those at Alton. An 
arrangement was at one lime made, to have it landed at 
a place called Chippewa, about five miles down the 
river, and conveyed secretly to Upper Alton. But not 
coming the day that it was expected, and the roads be- 
coming bad in consequence of heavy rains, that plan 
was abandoned. At length it came into St. Louis on 
Sunday night the 5th, and by expresses, an arrangement 
was made with the Captain to land it at three o'clock 
Monday night, or rather Tuesday morning. The exact 
lime of its arrival was known to a few only, though that 
a press was expected, was known throughout the city. 
On Monday Mr. W. S. Oilman and our brother went to 
the Mayor, told him of the expected arrival of the press, 
and of the threats made of destroying it, which indeed 
were notorious ; and requested that special constables 
might be appointed to keep the peace. This request 
the Mayor communicated to the Common Council, stating 
at the same time, that from the confidence placed in the 
persons making these representations, as well as from 
what he himself knew, he had good reason to believe 
that there would be some infraction of the laws, and sub- 
initted to tliem whether some action would not be neces- 
sary. After a few moments silence, Mr. Kinjr, one o\ 
the aldermen, moved " that a note be addressed to Mr. 
Lovejoy and his friends, requesting them not to persist 
in establishing an Abolition press in Alton, and setting 
forth tlic reasons for the same." We have a paper siijned 
by the Clerk of the Common Council containing the 
above, as an extract from the records of the said Coun- 
cil. The phrase " setting forth the reasons for the same," 



RT.V. E. P. LOVEJOY. 283 

is obscure. Probably it means selling forth the reasons 
to " i\Ir. Lovejoy and bis friends why tliey should not 
establish an Abolition press.'' The Mayor told tliem 
that that vote was not answering the proposition which 
ho made to them, and that consequently he sliould not 
sign it if passed. It was laid on the tabic, and the 
Council adjourned, and nothing more was done about it. 
On Monday evening between forty and fifty citizens met 
in the warehouse of Godfrey, Gilman &, Co., where the 
j)ress was to be stored, in order to form themselves into 
a volunteer comi)any, to act under the direction of the 
Mayor, in defence of the law. About ten o'clock several 
Iclt ; not far from thirty remaining in the building, with 
one of the city constables to command lliem. They 
were armed with rifles and muskets, mostly the former, 
loaded with buckshot or small balls. The Editor of the 
'' Observer" was not there. His dwelling bad been at- 
tacked but a few nights before, and himself and sister 
narrowly escaped being hit witJi a lieavy brickbat, sufli- 
cient to take life. In consequence of the nightly ex- 
pectation of an assault, he • made arrangements with a 
brother then with him, to watch alternately every other 
nififht, at liome and at tlic store. At three o'clock the 
boat arrived containing the long looked for press. It 
was a light night, and the sentinel of the mob had been 
seen, at intervals all night on the shore, who immedi- 
ately gave the alarm, and horns were blown throughout 
the ciiv. As soon as the boat was heard, the Mayor 
was called, and came into tlie building. lie requested 
tliose within to remain there, and keep quiet, till called 
upon. He said he should go out and attend the storing 
of the press, and if any mob collected should command 
them to disperse — if they refused, and olfered any vio- 
lence, he should command those in the building to fire. 



284 MK.MOIR OF THE 

Owing, however, to the lateness of the hour, the mob 
were unable to muster their forces, to any considerable 
number, and the press was stored without molestation, 
except the firing of a few stones. The press thus safely- 
deposited in the garret of a firm stone warehouse, was 
thought to be secure. The great contest was expected 
at the landing, as it would be more difficult to protect it 
there, and of course additional advantages would be af- 
forded the mob for its destruction. 

No very unusual excitement prevailed on Tuesday, 
though it was noised through the city that " the Abolition 
press" had arrived. On Tuesday night the volunteers 
already spoken of again met at the same place. At 
nine, all but twelve (one or two dropped in afterwards) 
went away. Our brother remained, who with one or 
two others, was the only Abolitionist there. They were 
there not as Abolitionists but as citizens. 

And here it will be proper to describe the building, 
so that the reader may have a clear conception of the 
scene. The Mississippi river, whose general course, 
as is known, is southerly, at this point runs nearly 
east. The building is composed of two stores, with two 
separate roofs, communicating with each other within. 
The gable ends are north and south — one of them of 
course, next the river. All the windows, and also ail 
the doors, with the exception of one which opens into 
the basement story on the east side, are in the two gable 
ends. It is three stories high on the north end, and 
four on the south, the one next the river. It stands 
alone ; a street being on the north end, the river on the 
south, and several rods open space oa the two sides, 
so tliat it is accessible on all points. 

About ten o'clock, the drunkeries and collVc-houses 
began to belch forth their inmates, and a mob of about 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 285 

thirty individuals, armed, some with stones, and some 
with guns and pistols,* formed themselves into a line on 



From the Alton Telegraph, January 2Uh, 1838. 

*RIOT TRIALS. 

Contrary to grneral expectation, the persons recently indicted for 
having participated in the fatal riot of the 7th of November, were brought 
to trial on Wednesday and Fiiday of last week, and severally acquitted 
— the assailants and defendants being tried on different days. Our busi- 
ness engagements having put it out of our power to attend in either case, 
wc are indebted for the following brief notes of both trials to the polite- 
ness of two gentlemen present, who have kindly furnished them at our re- 
quest. 

" On Wednesday last, our City Court was occupied from half-past nine 
in the morning until ten at night, in the trial of the cause of the People vs. 
Enoch Long, T. B. Hurlbut, Wm. Harned, Geo. A. Walworth, A. B. Iloff, 
Winthrop S. Oilman, James Morss, Jr., George H. Whitney, John S. 
Noble, Henry Tanner, Royal Welter, and Reuben Gerry, upon an indict- 
ment for a riot on the memorable night of the Tlh Novemtier last, in defend- 
inga printingpress then in thepo.ssession of Godfrey, Oilman & Co. The 
indictment contained two counts; one of which charged the defendants 
with resisting an attack made by certain person.s unknown, to destroy a 
printing press, the property of Godfrey and Oilman, and then being in 
their possession ; the other count charged the defendants with unlawfully 
defending a certain warehouse — being the property of Godfrey and Oil- 
man, — against an attempt by certain persons to force open and enter the 
same. Mr. Davis, one of the counsel for Mr. Oilman, moved for a sepa- 
rate trial as to Mr. Oilman ; which, after much argument, was granted, 
upon the condition that the other eleven defendants should stipulate to be 
tried jointly. .\t this stage of the cause, a petition signed l)y some si.xty 
citizens was presented to the court, praying that the Hon. U. F. Lindor, 
Attorney General of the State, might be permitted to assist the City At- 
torney in the prosecution of the indictment. The court, in answer to 
the petition, remarked, that it was wholly without its province to interfere 
with the subject matter of the petition ; inasmuch as the City Attorney 
alone, could say who should and who should not assist him ; and conse- 
quently, the court, in discharge of its duty, and with all respect 
for the petitioners, would be compelled to deny the request ; but that the 
Attorney General could appear in the cause, if the coimsel for the people 
and the defendant should so consent. Mr. Davis then arose, and stated 
to the court, that neither Mr. Oilman nor his counsel had any objection 



286 MEMOIR OF THE 

the south end of the store next the river, knocked and 
hailed the store. Those within were stationed in difle- 



whatever to the Attorney General's appearing on behalf of the People. 
The City Attorney consenting, Mr. Linder appeared in aid of tlie prose- 
cution. 

A jury was without much difficulty impanneled ; and the prosecution 
proceeded in the examination of the testimony, which developed most 
clearly this whole transaction from its origin down to its lamentable ter- 
mination. One of the witnesses on the part of the prosecution, H. H. 
West, Esq. stated, that early in the evening, about dark, a person called 
upon him, and informed him that, a mob was to be gotten up that nighty 
with a view of destroying the press then in the warehouse of Godfrey, 
Gilman & Co., and that the assailants had determined to obtain the 
press, and destroy it, cither by burning the warehouse, or blowing it up ; 
that the person giving him the information urged him to go and see Mr. 
Gilman, and inform him of the fact ; that he, in company with E. Keating, 
Esq. did repair to the warehouse of Mr. Gilman, where he found a num- 
ber of individuals assembled, all of whom were armed with muskets ; and 
that he there stated to Mr. Gilman what he had been told, and the rumour 
that was current through the town; that Mr. Gilman expressed great 
astonishment at the information, and could not credit it ; and said he did 
not expect any attack would be made that evening. Mr. West also stated 
that the attack commenced on the outside, by throwing a volley of stones 
at the windows .and doors, and that two gTins were fired from the outside 
previous to any guns being fired from within. Mr. Keating corroborated 
in every respect the testimony ot Mr. West, and also testified that the 
firing of guns commenced on the outside, and at the lime (he first attack was 
made upon the building. All the w itnesses agreed in this particular ; 
and the Mayor of the city, in his testimony stated that he saw the assail- 
ants, when they first went to the warehouse, many of whom were picking 
up stones as they proceeded towards it, and that one man had a gun. 
There was one other witness, besides the Mayor, called on behalf of the 
defendant, who corroborated the statement of the witnesses on tlir part 
of the prosecution, as lo the attack first being made on the outside with 
stones and fire-arms, and who stated further, that he was one of the in- 
dividuals m the building, who had repaired there with a view of dcfoiid- 
ing it ; that it was well understood and agreed among them, that thoy 
were in no case to act except upon the defensive ; and that a resort to 
firearms wa.snot to bn had unless driven to it in the preservation of their 
lives. He further stated that they all supposed they were acting under 
the authority of the Mayor. 

The above i.m ihr substaiuM; of llio tcslinioiiv, both on t]\r part of the 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOV. 287 

rent parts of the building. Mr. Gilman, one of the own- 
ers of the store, asked them from the garret door, what 



prosecution and the defence, and which will servo to give the public some 
idea of the facts developed in the cause, until they shall l)e enahled to see 
a minute statement of the whole trial, which, we are informed, is now pre- 
paring — a gentlemen having taken full notes for that purpose— and which 
will he published in pamphlet form as soon as the circumstances wjll 
admit of if. The counsel for the defendant then proposed to submit the 
case without an^umenl to the jury ; which being objected to on tlic part 
of the prosecution, it was summed up by F. B. Murdoch, City Attorney, 
Samuel G. Bailey, and U. K. Linder, Attorney General, Esq'rs., on the 
part of the prosecution, and Geo. T. M. Davis and Alfred Cowles, Esq'rs. 
on the part of the defendant. No instriiclions being asked for by either 
.side, the cause was submitted after the argument of counsel without any 
instructions from his honour the Judge to the jury ; who, after an absence 
of ten minutes, returned into court the verdict of Not Guilty. The next 
morning the City Attorney entered a. nolle prosequi as to the other eleven 
defendants. 

On Friday, the 19th of January, there came on for trial in the Munici- 
pal Court of this city, the case of the People against Frederick Bruchey, 
William Carr, James M. Rock, David Butler, Horace Beall, Levi 

Palmer, Nutter, Jennings, and others. Two of the defendants 

had left the cily : the others came in voluntarily, and entered the plea of 
Not Guilty. The indictment was for riot, and charged that the defend- 
ants, on the 7th of November, with force and arms, riotously and rout- 
onsly entered the warehonse of Benjamin Godfrey and Winlhrop .S. Gil- 
man, and forcibly broke and destroyed a printing press, then and there 
being, the proper goods and chattels of the said Godfrey and Gilman, 
contrary to the statute in such case made and provided. An indictment 
had been found against W'inthrop S. Gilman and others, who had entered 
the said warehouse to defend the press from threatened destruction by 
the mob without. That indictment was tried on Wednesday, the 17th 
day of January, which trial resulted in the acquittance of Mr. Gilman, 
who was tried separately; after which the City Attorney dismissed the 
prosecution as to the other defendants, jointly indicted with him. This 
trial having led to an examination of the whole case, as well of those as- 
saulting the warehouse, as of those defending it, the members of the jury 
of the regular pannel had formed opinions in relation to the matter, so as 
to disqualit'y themselves. It therefore became necessary to select a new 
jury from the by-standers, for the purpose of trying the last case. 

On the part of the People, it was proved, that the press had arrived by 



288 MEMOIR OF THE 

they wanted. Their leader, Wilham Carr, replied, 
"the press." Mr. (lilman then told them that it would 



steamlKjat a day or two previous to the 7ih of November, consigned to 
Mr. A. B. Roff; but was landed at Messrs. Godfrey and Oilman's ware- 
house, where it was stored ; thai said warehouse was built by those gen- 
tlemen in 1832, and has been since thai time owned and occupied by 
them, as forwarding and commission merchants ; that on the afternoon 
of November 7lh, one of the defendants had told the witness, (H. H. 
We.st, Esq.) that the boys were going to attack the warehouse, and that it 
would be either blown up or burned, unless the press w.os given up ; and 
that some of the defendants were in a company of a!)out twenty -five, that 
formed a line from a certain grocery, swearing that they would have the 
press at all hazards. It was also proved that two guns or pistols were 
fired from the outside of the warehouse at those within ; that showers of 
stones were discharged against the front of the buildmg, bj' which the 
windows were demolished ; that during the attack a man named Bishop 
was shot from the inside of the warehouse; that some of the defendants 
were seen carrying away Jiis body, observing that one of their men had 
been wounded ; that Mr. Oilman addressed the crowd from the third story 
of the building, requesting them to desist, and stating that he was defend- 
ing his property, which he felt il his duty to do at the risk of his life ; that 
he was replied to by one of tlie defendants, as spokesman for the rest, 
who observed that they were determined to deslro> the press, if it cost 
them their lives. 

Il was also proved by the Mayor, and S. W. Robbins, a Justice of the 
Peace, that they identified sever.il of the defendants, with arms in their 
hands, declaring that they would have the press ; that a man was seen 
going towards the warehouse, with fire in his hands, swearing that he 
wouhl burn down the buihiing ; that a ladder was set up against the side, 
and the fire actually communicated to the roof; that at this timr, Mr. 
West went in with the Mayor, to propose a capitulation, by which it was 
8ti()uliited that if those inside would leave the warehouse, and give up 
the press, they should not be injured, and no other property, except the 
press, molested ; that the building was accordingly abandoned by Mr. 
Oilman, and its other defenders, as the only means left them to prevent 
its destruction, and that of their own lives; that they were fired upon 
by some of the crowd as they retreated; that upon their leaving the 
warehouse, it was immediately entered by some of the defendants and 
others; that the prew was thrown out, and demolished with u sledge 
hammer, &ic. 

Thi.i constitutes the sum of the evidence on the part of the prosecu- 
lion. On the part of the defendants, it was proved bv Mr. tiilman tl.it 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 289 

not be given up, and arlded, " we have no ill feelings to- 
wards any of you, and should much regret to do you 
any injury ; but we are authorized by the Mayor to 
defend our property, and shall do so with our lives." 
Carr again replied that they had determined to have it 
even at the sacrifice of their lives, and presented a pistol 
towards Mr. G., who then retired into the building. The 
mob then went round to the opposite end of the ware- 
house, and commenced throwing stones, which soon de- 
molished several windows. Those in the building had 
agreed not to fire unless their lives were endangered. 
After throwing stones for some time, the mob fired two 
or three guns into the building, without however wound- 
ing any one. The fire was then returned from within, 
two or three guns discharged upon the rioters, several of 
their number wounded, and one by the name of Bishop, 
mortally. This checked the efforts of the mob and they 
departed, carrying away those that were wounded. The 
number is not known as they were concealed by their 
friends. After a visit to the rum-shops, they returned 
with ladders and other materials to set fire to the roof of 
the warehouse, shouting with fearful imprecations and 
curses, " Burn them out, burn them out " They now 
kept themselves on the side of the building where there 
were no windows, so that they could not be annoyed or 
driven away by those within the building, unless they 
came out. This of course would be extremely danger- 
ous, as the night was perfectly clear, and the moon at its 



he was not the owner of the press, and ha«l no further interest in it, than 
the liability of himself and partner for its safe-keeping. After argiiment 
bj- counsel, the case was suhmittod to the jury, who" returned a ver<lict 
of \ot Guilty. Counsel for the people, F. B. Murdorh, City Attorney, 
and Alfred Cowlos, EsqVs ; for the defence, V. F. Linder, Esq., At- 
torney General. [See the Mayor's evidence at the end] 

25 



290 MEMOIR OF THE 

full. Tlic Mavor [iiid Justice Robbins were then depu- 
ted by the mob to bear a flag of truce to those within, 
proposing as terms of capitulation, that the press should 
be given up, and on that condition, they might be per- 
mitted to depart unmolested, and that no other property 
should be destroyed. The Mayor made known the terms 
of surrender to the little band, at the same lime informing 
them that the mob had determined to fire the building. 
They promptly replied, that they came there to defend 
their property, and should do it. Mr. Gilman then re- 
quested him to call upon certain citizens to prevent the 
burning of the store. The Mayor replied, that so nu- 
merous were the mob, and so desperate withal, that he 
could do nothing but command and persuade^ which he 
had already tried without effect. He was then asked if 
they should defend their property with arms, he replied 
as he had repeatedly before, that they had a perfect right 
so to do, and that the law justified that course. On re- 
turning and reporting the result of his embassy, the mob 
set up a shout, and rushed on with cries of " Fire the 
building, fire the building," " Burn 'em out, burn 'em 

out," " shoot every d d Abolitionist as he leaves." 

It was now near midnight. The bells had been rung 
and a large concourse of citizens assembled, who stood 
inactive spectators of these deeds of arson and murder. 
The mob now raised their ladders and placed them on 
the north-east corner of the store, and kindled a fire on 
the roof, which although of wood, did not burn very 
readily. About five individuals now volunteered to go 
out and drive them away. They left the building on the 
south end, came round to the south-east corner of the 
building, turned the angle, and two or three fired upon 
the man on the ladder, drove him away and dispersed 
the mob. They then returned into the store and re-loud- 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 291 

ed. Our brother and Mr. Weller, with one or two others 
again stepped to the door, and, seeing n.o one, stood 
looking round just without the threshhold, our brother 
being a little before the others and more exposed. Sev- 
eral of tiie niOb had in the meantime, concealed them- 
selves behind a pile of lumber that lay at a short dis- 
tance. One ol' them had a two-barrelled gun and fired. 
Our brother received live balls, three in his breast, two 
on the left and one on the right side, one in the abdomen, 
and one in his left arm. He turned quickly round into 
the store, ran hastily up a flight of stairs, with his arms 
across his breast, came into the counting-room, and fell, 
exclaiming " Oh God, I am shot," " I am shot," and ex- 
pired in a few moments. Mr. Weller received a ball iu 
the calf of his leg, but has since recovered. Some in 
the building were for continuing the conflict, but they 
finally resolved to yield. One of their number the Rev. 
Mr. Ilarned, then went up to the scuttle, and informed 
the mob that Mr. Lovejoy was dead and that they would 
give up the press, provided they might be allowed to es- 
cape unmolested. When this announcement was made 
the mob set up a yell of exultation which rent the very 
heavens, and swore that they should all find a grave 
where they were. Mr. RoflT then determined to go out 
at all hazards and to make some terms if possible. As 
soon as he had opened the door, and placed one foot 
without, he was fired upon and wounded in the ankle, 
lie too has nearly recovered. A Mr. West then came 
to tlie door on the north end of the store, and cried to 
those within, " For God's sake leave the building and let 
them in or all the property will be destroyed," stating 
also that tbe roof was already on fire, and that it was 
useless to remain. All except two or tliree then laid 
down their arms, left the building at the southern door, 



292 JIEMOIR OF THE 

and fled down the river. As they escaped, they were 
fired upon by llie mob, and one individual liad a ball pass 
through his coat near his shoulder. The mob then rush- 
ed into the building, — the fire being extinguished — threw 
the press out of the window upon the shore, broke it to 
pieces, and threw it into the river. They destroyed no 
other property except a few guns. They ofiered no in- 
dignity to their murdered victim, who lay on a col in the 
counting-room. Dr. S. M. Hope, one of their number, 
insisted on taking the ball from Mr. Weller's leg, but he 
refused, saying that he would rather die than receive as- 
sistance from one of the mob. 

About two o'clock the mob dispersed. On the door of 
the building where some of those who had escaped had 
taken refuge, figures of cofllns were drawn, under which 
was written, " Ready made coflins for sale, inquire of 
&c.," referring to individuals who had been in the store 
that night. 

The next morning the bloody remains of our brother, 
were removed by a few friends from the warehouse to 
his dwelling ; and as the hearse moved slowly along 
through the street, it was saluted with jeers and scofllj, 
which showed that the hatred of his enemies still raged 
in their breasts, unsatisfied even with his blood. One 
who had been a principal actor in the horrid tragedy of 
the previous night, said " If he had a fife he would play 
the dead march for him." He was buried on Thursday 
the ninth of November, just thirty-five years from the 
day of his birth. There was not a large number who 
attended his funeral. He looked perfectly natural, but 
little paler than usual, and a smile still resting upon his 
lips. He sleeps in a grave-yard a short distance from 
his dwelling, between two large oak trees, one standing 
at his head and one at his feet. 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 293 

His wife was not at home at the time of his death, 
having gone to Upper AUon, that same day in order to 
avoid that state of continual alarm and apprehension, 
which attended her while at Alton. When told that her 
husband was killed, she sank down senseless, " trem- 
bling," says one present, " as though an arrow had 
pierced her heart." She remained in this state for sev- 
eral days, so that she was not able to attend the burial of 
her husband. After her partial recovery she stopped for 
a few days at her house. On the day she left Alton for 
her mother's at St. Charles, where she now is, she rode 
to the grave of her husband. She wept freely but was 
not very much agitated. She said on her return, that 
she hoped she might live to train up her little son to imi- 
tate the example of his father. 

She has but one little boy, Edward Payson, who was 
born in March, 1836. If she lives she will probably 
give birth to another child. Her health is now, Febru- 
ary, 1838, comparatively good. 

That our brother, for we knew him well, has gone to 
a world where hatred cannot disturb, nor violence injure, 
we cannot doubt. We cannot doubt that those ties which 
twined so closely around his heart, and which were so 
rudely and wickedly sundered, have been healed in that 
place of peace and blessedness dimly shadowed forth in 
the following lines from his own pen. 

THERE IS AN ISLE. 

" There is an isle, a lovely isle, 
Which ocean depth's embrace, 
Nor man's deceit, nor woman's wile, 

Hath ever found tiie place. 
Uow sweet 'twould be, if I could find 
This isle, and leave the world behind. 
25» 



294 MEMOIR OF THE 

See from the lieaven-born Pleiades, 
Comes the young, blooming spring ; 

Her light car yoked unto a breeze, 
With aromatic wing ; 

Gaily she drives around its shores, 

And scatters all her purple stores.. 

Ten thousand Naiads sport along, 

Her ever joyous train ; 
And life and love are poured in song, 

And bliss in every strain ; 
So soft, so sweet, so bland the while, 
That even despair itself would smile. 

Eternal calm hangs o'er its plains, 

Its skies are ever fair ; 
In nectar'd dew descend its rains ; 

No fire-charged clouds are there. 
To speak in thunder from the path 
Of God come down to earth in wrath. 

Its silvery streams o'er crystals flow. 
Where sparkling diamonds be, 

And, sweetly murmuring, gently go. 
To meet a stormless sea ; 

And in their clear, reflective tide, 

In golden scales the fishes glide. 

Melodious songsters fill its groves, 

To harmony attuned ; 
Where saints and seraphs tell their loves, 

Tlieir golden harps around. 
In strains as soft as charmed the hours. 
When man was blest in Eden's bowers. 

No birds of blood, nor beasts of prey. 
Can in its woodlands breathe ; 

Peace spreads her wing o'er ev'rj' spray, 
And beauty sleeps beneath ; 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 295 

Or wakes to joy her varying note, 
From ev'ry golden-feather'd throat. 

No gloomy morning ever gleams 

Upon this isle so tliir ; 
No tainted hrecze from guilty chmes 

Infects the evening air ; 
For in the light of ev'ry star 
Are angels watching from afar. 

Oh ! I would leave this wretched world, 

Where hope can hardly smile ; 
And go on wings by faith unfurled, 

To reach this happy isle ; 
But that some ties still bind me here. 
Which while they fetter, still endear. 

And T would not that these should part. 

Till He, and He alone. 
Who wound them finely round my heart, 

Has cut them one by one : 
And when the last is severed, then 
Upon this isle 'twill heal again." 

E. P. L. 
Halloiocll Gazette, Nov. 1th, 1827. 



CHAPTER X. 

We now approach the end of our painful task. A 
constant attention, for several weeks, to the scenes at 
Alton, has drawn largely upon the sympathies of the 
heart. By night and by day the image of a murdered 
brother has been present to the mind. It has indeed 
been both soothing and refreshing to trace the abundant 
evidences, in his public and private writings, that he was 
" ready to be offered." We have simply narrated the 
facts in regard to his life, and presented some portion 
of his writings, according to the best of our judgment and 
ability. We offer no remark, draw no inferences, make 
no appeal, seek no colouring. Of the whole painful 
tragedy, it has been justly said, " no language can exag- 
gerate the naked atrocity of the facts — no oratory can 
deepen the dark colours — the simple statement is the 
strongest — the plainest narrative the most condemning." 

We had hoped to obtain an engraving which would 
give an accurate conception of his person. This how- 
ever was found wholly impracticable as no portrait of him 
had ever been taken. 

He was of middling stature, thick set, his height being 
about five feet nine inches. His complexion was dark, 
with black piercing eyes and full countenance. His 
feelings were naturally ardent. As a man, he was coura- 
geous, firm, and independent. As a companion, cheerful 
and social. As a Christian, meek and prayerful. As a minis- 
ter, dignified and solenm. As a writer, clear and forcible, 



MEMOIR OF TflE REV. E. P. LOVEJOV. 297 

drawing at pleasure, for the illustration of his subject, from 
the stores of a well furnished memory. In the social 
relations, as husband, son, and brother, he was kind and 
sympathizing — greatly beloved. 

After his return to the West, in 1833, he acquired and 
retained a large share of the confidence and esteem of 
his brethren, in the ndnistry and in the churches. lie 
was ordained as an evangelist in .Tune, 1831. He was 
froquenily called to attend protracted meetings, and visit 
the destitute churches in the vicinity of St. Louis and 
Alton. He felt a lively interest in the various benevo- 
lent societies of the West, and was secretary of four or 
five of them for several years. At the time he left St. 
Louis, he was moderator of the Presbytery there, and 
also of the Presbytery at Alton when he died. There is 
no evidence that the Christian community were at all 
withdrawing their confidence from him. On the other 
hand, there is abundant testimony that he had a place 
in the warm alTections of a great majority of the wise 
and good throughout Illinois, and in many other states. 
The difficulties which he had to encounter were local — 
they all arose from his course upon two subjects, Popery 
and Slavery. The only valid accusation that even his 
enemies have preferred against him is ; that he too much 
he revered the command, " Thou shalt love thy neigh- 
bour as thy thyself." We here insert a letter from the 
Rev. Dr. Chaplin, who was President of Watcrville 
College, while our brother was a member of that institu- 
tion. Also an extract from the sermon of Mr. IMcKeen. 

Willington, Conn., January 30th, 1838. 
Rev. Jos. C. Lovejov, 

Dear Sir : — In compliance with the wish ex- 
prcssed in your letter of the ir)th inst. and repeated in 



298 MLMOIR OF THE 

that of the 23cl, I set down to record some things in re- 
lation to the kite Rev. E. P. Lovejoy, your unfortunate 
and justly lamented brother. 

From the commencement of his collegiate course to 
the time of his graduation, I was intimately acquainted 
with him. During this period, he made no pretensions 
to experimental religion. As far, however, as my ac- 
quaintance with him enabled me to judge, he was 
never chargeable with making light of sacred things, or 
with favouring the cause of inlidelity. According to the 
best of my recollection, his attendance on the services of 
the chapel \vas regular and respectful. I have besides 
the satisfaction of being able to say, that he sustained a 
fair moral character, and was exact in his obedience to 
the laws of the college. He uniformly treated its officers 
in a gentlemanly manner, and seemed desirous of exert- 
ing all the influence he possessed over his fellow-stu- 
dents in favour of order and good morals. I think his 
natural disposition was kind and amiable. His tempera- 
ment was, indeed, uncommonly sanguine, as every one 
must have perceived who was at all acquainted with him. 
And this, we should naturally suppose, must frequently 
have led him to the adoption of measures, or at least to 
the use of expressions at variance with the dictates of 
sound reason. There are, some excellent men who, in 
consequence of possessing too much warmth, are fre- 
quently betrayed into indiscretions which greatly dimin- 
ish both their comfort and usefulness. But this was not 
the case with Mr. Lovejoy, at least during his residence 
at Waterville. He had such a fund of good sense and good 
nature that, although exceedingly ardent, he seldom gave 
offence, or had cause to be sorry on account of the 
measures which he adopted. A hundred young men 
like him might, it seems to me, be more easily governed 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 299 

than half a dozen of those (falsely called) choice spirilSj 
who frequently reside in the walls of a college. 

In regard to the intellectual powers of your deceased 
brother, I do not hesitate to say, that they were of a su- 
perior order. He seems to me to have approached very 
near to the rank of those distinguished men who have 
been honoured with the title of universal geniuses. Du- 
ring his collegiate course he appeared to have an almost 
equal adaptation of mind to the various branches of sci- 
ence and literature, usually studied at our seminaries of 
learning ; and, what is more, he took hold of each with 
giant strength. It was my lot to hear his class in Greek 
and in metaphysics, and I well remember that in both of 
these departments of knowledge, he appeared to great 
advantage at the daily recitations, and also at the exami- 
nation of his class before the board of visitors. I think 
he was rather more fond of languages and polite litera- 
ture, than of intellectual philosophy and the exact sci- 
ences. In the latter, however, he acquitted himself in a 
highly creditable manner. 

After what I have said respecting his attainments, it 
seems almost superfluous to add that he was a close appli- 
cant. I mention this as one of his distinguishing excel- 
lencies. In the course of my life I have been acquainted 
with some individuals of fine talents, who, in consequence 
of their disrelish of intellectual labour, never attained to a 
a very high rank as literary men. And this would, un- 
questionably, have been the case with your brother, had 
he not been willing to toil in the pursuit of knowledge. 
But he was willing to toil by niglit and by day. And 
this enabl(Ml him, not only to make rapid progress in sci- 
ence and literature himself, but to exert a highly beneficial 
influence on the progress of his fellow-students. 

In closing this communication, I cannot refrain from 



300 MEMOIR OF THE 

expressing my sympathy with you, my dear sir, and 
with your widowed mother and other relations, in view 
of the heavy alllictions whicli you have all experienced 
in the untimely death of one so deservedly dear to your 
hearts, and my hope that you will not only be supported 
under it, but find it yield in you the peaceable fruit of 
righteousness. 

With great respect, I am 

Your friend and servant, 

JER. CHAPLLN. 



Extracts from a sermon preached at Oldtown, Maine, December 31st., 
1837, on the occasion of the massacre of the Rev. Mr. Lovejoy. by re- 
quest of the mother and other relatives of the deceased in that place, by 
the Rer. Silas McKeen, of Belfast, from Psalm Ixxvi. 10, — " Surftli/ 
the wrath of manshall praise Thee." 

Let us now consider briefly some of the principal ob- 
jections which have been made to the course which Mr. 
Lovejoy thought it his duty to pursue. 

It has been insisted that no one ought to so go before 
or run counter to pul)lic opinion, as to make himself 
odious or create disturbance in the community, and that 
as Mr. Lovejoy did this, he acted imprudently, and 
virtually forfeited his claim to legal protection. If so, 
Galileo deserved to be condemned and punished as he 
was, for daring to invade the Romish darkness by teach- 
ing that the earth is a sphere, turning on its axis, and 
revolving round the sun. William Tindall deserved to 
be strangled and burned for oflToring such an insult to 
pul)lic sentiment, as to prepare and publish a translation 
of the New Testament in P^nglish, that his country- 
men might have nr\ opportunity of reading for themselves 
those holy books. And the apostles merited t/ieir fate 
by attempting to bring into contempt the established doc- 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOV. 301 

trines and usages of Heathenism, in order to introduce 
and establish Christianity. The sentiment is base and 
abominable and ought to be repudiated with scorn. 

It has again been said th:il when Mr. Lovejoy saw that 
he had excited public indignation, prudence required that 
he should have gone to some other place. That this in 
many, perhaps in most cases of persecution, is proper, 
when practicable, seems evident from our Lord's direc- 
tion to his apostles, " When they persecute you in this 
city, lice ye into another." But suppose one to be thrown 
into such circumstances that no security will be gained, 
or that important principles will be abandoned, and a 
dangerous precedent set in, can he flee ; is this general 
rule binding then ? 

Take the case of Shadrach and his companions who 
firmly refused to worship tlie image which their king had 
set up, and yet attempted not to flee from his wrath ; of 
Daniel, who in view of the peril of being cast into the 
den of lions, continued to make his prayer publicly unto 
his God, as he had done aforetime ; and of Nehemiah, 
who, on being informed of the murderous designs of his 
enemies, and advised to conceal himself in the temple, 
boldly replied, " Should such a man as I flee ? who is 
there that, being as I am, would go into the Temple to 
save his life ? I will not go in." Our missionaries, Wor- 
cester and Butler, remained at their station in opposition 
to the unconstitutional and unrighteous laws of Georgia, 
until they were cast into the penitentiary; and were jus- 
tified by the highest legal tribunal in this nation, in so 
doing. What shall we say of the conduct of all these 
men ? We cannot but admire it. Our Saviour fled 
several times from his enemies ; but when he knew that 
the time was at hand for him to suffer, he made no fur- 
ther attempt to escape. The primitive martyrs very 
26 



302 MEMOIR OF THE 

generally might have saved their lives, by what those who 
comprehended not their views, considered a very reason- 
able and easy compliance with public law and senti- 
ment ; but they could not yield, because they believed 
they ought not. So now, a man may be thrown into 
such a critical and responsible situation, that it would be 
wrong for him to flee even to save his life. Our lamented 
friend believed that such was his case, and I see not how 
it can be proved that his belief in regard to this point was 
not well founded. If he ought to have quietly yielded to 
popular prejudice or violence, every editor, every minis- 
ter, every magistrate, ought, in similar circumstances, to 
do so ; and law and justice are but empty names. 

Let those who call him imprudent, provided they are 
men of principle, be thrown into such circumstances that 
they must relinquish sacred rights and set dangerous ex- 
amples by yielding to the dictation of mobs, and they 
will themselves do what some others who have no sympa- 
thy with their objects, will call imprudent. No doubt 
some considered the Rev. Mr. Parker, of New Orleans, 
exceedingly imprudent a few years ago, to return to that 
city, when he knew there was high indignation against 
him, and to inform the men of influence, who had resolved 
to drive him away, that he should stay, be the consequen- 
ces what they might. But he thought he acted, and 
imdoubtedly did act, in a manner worthy of his truly ex- 
cellent character. Happy is he who condemneth not 
his brother in the thing that he alloweth. 

Again, it has been said that Mr. Lovejoy and his 
friends had no right to resort to the use of deadly wea- 
pons in their defence ; that they had no more right to 
fire on the mob, than the mob liad to fire on them ; 
that they were in fact, two mobs conflicting with each 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 303 

Other ; and that his fall was an evidence of the divine 
disapprobation of his conduct. 

We pretend not that our friend was infallible ; we feel 
under no obligation to justify, indiscriminately, every 
thing which in the midst of his manifold difficulties, and 
perils and cruel persecutions he may have said and done. 
But let us look at this matter candidly, and with due 
discrimination. 

If failure and death by violence be evidence of the 
divine displeasure in regard either to the object or mea- 
sures pursued, the converse of the proposition must be 
admitted to be equally true ; and then every robber and 
murderer who has been successful, and escaped with im- 
punity, must be considered as having thereby received 
indubitable evidence of Heaven's approbation. Even the 
bloody assassin who shot our brother to the heart, may 
continue to lift up his blood-stained visage with triumph, 
inasmuch as he took the sword and has not perished by 
it. The position cannot be maintained for a moment. 

That the men assailed were in any sense a mob, stand- 
ing in that respect on a level with the assailants, is a 
false and base insinuation. As well might you say, that 
the crew of a merchant vessel, who resist the pirates who 
attack them, are themselves pirates in so doing ; or that 
those who resist robbers, violators, and murderers, are no 
better than they. The parties stood on ground altogether 
difierent. The one stood in defence of sacred rights ; 
the other came to wrest them away. The one stood on 
ground environed and secured to them by the constitution 
and laws of their country ; while the other came of 
their own unauthorized will to break through that enclo- 
sure, and to put those who had lied to il for shelter, under 
the ban of mobocracy. 

Again, Mr. Lovejoy and his friends acted with the 



304 MEMOIR OF THE 

countenance, and virtually under the authority of the chief 
oflicer of that city, whereas their assailants acted in di- 
rect contempt of his authority. 

Civil governments are ordained of God, and magis- 
trates are appointed by such governments expressly for 
the purpose of protecting those who do well, and for re- 
straining, punishing, and, if need be, cutting ofl' by death 
those who violate the order of the community, and the 
rights of their fellow-men. It is God's will that they 
should not bear the sword in vain ; but act as his min- 
isters, in the character of avengers, to execute wrath 
upon those who do evil. They ought in all instances to 
suppress riots, to put down mobs, even by force and 
arms, when it cannot be otherwise eflected. With this 
view they applied to the Mayor of Alton. He acknow- 
ledged the justice of their claim ; but owing to the state 
of public sentiment and feeling there, was not able, or at 
least did not venture, to furnish them with requisite pro- 
tection. He told them, however, that they had a right to 
arm and defead themselves, and in two instances he had 
acted with them while thus armed, before the night of 
the fatal rencounter ; once while President Beecher was 
delivering an address on Slavery ; and again, the night 
the press was landed. He did not, indeed, require them 
to arm, but confessed their right, and gave them counte- 
nance. On the fatal night he commanded the mob to 
disperse ; but he did not command them to disperse, or 
to lay downi their arms. Single handed he could do 
nothing, and they were the only men who stood firmly 
by him in support of the laws. If then you would not 
condemn a military company who should come forth by 
the call of authority to put down riot, why will you, so 
far as tho legality of the proceedings is concerned, con- 
demn these persecuted men for acting as they did ? 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOT. 305 

But should it still be insisted on by any, that they 
were in no sense authorized by the Mayor to defend 
their property and persons, which we do not admit, yet 
had they not, according to the constitutions, laws, and 
usages of all countries, especially of their own, a natu- 
ral and civil right to defend themselves when their un- 
alienable rights were assailed, and no protection from 
government could be obtained ? Has not the solitary 
traveller a right to break the robber's grasp from his 
throat ; and to turn away his dirk from his breast, though 
he should perchance break that robbers arm or head in 
the attempt ? Has not the master of a family, when 
roused from his couch at the midnight hour, a right to 
repel with such weapons as he can lay his hand upon, 
the wretches who are attempting to plunder, violate, and 
murder his family, and to burn him and them together to 
hide their iniquity ? For my part I have not the shadow 
of a doubt respecting the right of defence in such cases 
as these. Neither have I any doubt of the legal right of 
Mr. Lovejoy to defend himself as he did. All the blood 
which was shed there on both sides, is, and must for- 
ever be on the heads of the rioters ; until they apply to 
such a fountain of purification as earth cannot afford, to 
wash it away, and the civil authorities of the place arc 
bound if possible to bring the murderers to justice. 

But was not the defence which he attempted contrary 
to the command of the Saviour, which required him to 
do unto others as he would have them do to him, and 
therefore morally, rcliirioushj, if not legally, wrong ? I 
know not what right we have even on this ground to 
condemn him. Obedience to this law is not inconsistent 
with the exercise of civil justice, or the maintenance of 
unalienable rights. It requires us to cherish benevo- 
lence to all, and to do towards others as in reversed 
'JG* 



306 ME3I0IR OF THE 

circumstances it would be right and best that they should 
do towards us. Every one with such light as he can 
obtain, must decide and act, and answer to Goil for him- 
self. In regard to the case before us a very worthy 
minister in Vermont* has published this declaration. 
" I hereby declare that if I ever assault a family with 
murderous intent, I would that the head of that family 
resist me unto blood, if he cannot control me otherwise — 
I would that if I join a mob to destroy a printing press 
to stifle free discussion, if I assault the defenders of that 
press, and attempt to fire the building in which they have 
intrenched themselves, that some lover of his country, 
some bold defender of its sacred liberties, some generous 
friend of the oppressed and trodden down slave, under 
the influence and by the authority of the great law of 
love, would shoot me dead." Mr. I.ovejoy no doubt took 
the same views of the matter, and fell in the exercise 
of philanthropv, and with a good conscience towards 
God. 

But if he ha'l a right to attempt defence, was it wise 
and prudent for him, situated as he was, to use that 
right ? I have been inclined to think it was not. I do 
think that in pertinaciously defending his rights as he 
did, when compassed about by an opposition so power- 
ful, he acted injudiciously ; in this respect, that he had 
not sufllcienl reason to believe that it was possible for 
him to secure his object. Should a strong band of rob- 
bers break into your habitation at night, and having 
shown you that they had you completely in their power, 
declare they would spare your life only on condition you 
would make no resistance, no outer}', let them do what 
they pleased with your property and family, perhaps 

♦ Rev. ChcstcT Wii 'la of H.inlwick. 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOV. 307 

prudence, abstractedly considered, niiglit reciuiro you to 
icquiesce in the condition, however cruel. But yet you 
ivould find the actual submission a very different thing 
'rom mere speculation about its expediency. Charging 
Mr. Lovejoy with imprudence in seeking to defend liis 
iress and life, is one of the severest rellections which 
;an be cast on the authorities and people of Alton. The 
nore evident it is that he acted injudiciously in this at- 
enipt, the more manifest it is that a most disgraceful dis- 
•egard of law, of justice, and even of humanity, prevailed 
n that city. What would you think of a community 
^here it would be imprudent for you to use your own 
)roperty and faculties in a lawful manner, and according 
your own convictions of duty ? But Mr. Lovejoy's 
mprudence is palliated by two circumstances. One is 
hat friends in whom he placed confidence hoped that he 
night succeed, and encouraged him to go on. He and 
hey trusted that a shoir of determined resistance would 
)e suHicient, and that no blood would be shed on either 
»ide. If the affair had so turned out, his decision would 
10 doubt have been generally commended. The other 
s that he appears to have believed that even if he failed 
n securing his immediate object, still the ultimate bene- 
its which would accrue from his effort, would be, suffi- 
cient to justify any lawful sacrifices by which they might 
je obtained. And who can disprove it ? On this piin- 
?iple the patriotic men who ft-U in the war of the revo- 
ution, were willing to expose their lives in contending 
'or liberty, even unto death. And in the spirit of martyrs 
lur missionary brethren in China are, as we suppose, 
persistiniT in their pious efforts under the sword of civil 
luthority uplifted to smite them. They are encouraged 
by the church in so doing. If tidings should hereafter 
come that thev have been sacrificed, it will undoubtedly 



308 MEMOIR OF THE 

be said by many that they acted imprudently in remain- 
ing ; but still their example of firmness and perseverance, 
in the midst of perils, will not have been presented in 
vain, nor their blood have been shed in vain ; but like 
that of the primitive martyrs will multiply converts to 
righteousness. So if any choose, or feel constrained, to 
say that our lamented Lovejoy was imprudent, that he 
acted injudiciously in abiding at his post, and warring 
for Liberty at such fearful disadvantage with its enemies, 
still it must be allowed that he acted nobly, and died he- 
roically, and has left an example of invincible firmness 
in the maintenance of what he believed to be true and 
right, which is likely to be remembered long, and to have 
great influence. His work is done, his warfare accom- 
plished, and his spirit gone, we confidently trust, to that 
blessed world where the remembrance of the scenes of 
conflict and suffering, through which he and his fellow- 
worshippers passed while here, will occasion no sorrow ; 
but serve to inspire them all with profound and everlast- 
ing admiration of the wisdom and power of their God, 
who causes the wrath of man to praise him, and re- 
strains the remainder. 

Let us now advert, briefly, to a few of the beneficial 
consequences which under the government of the Al- 
mighty, have resulted, and may yet be expected to result 
from this terrible outbreaking of wrath. 

In the first place, it shows to all men, what many have 
been slow to believe, that the spirit of American slave- 
hohling is deadly hostile to human liberltf. What has this 
spirit done ? It has subjected millions of our country- 
men to a state of abject bondage, has deprived them of 
all their inalienable rights, oven of the privilege of call- 
ing their bodies or souls their own, and debarred them 
from all means tending to raise them to a more elevated 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOV. 309 

condition. It cannot endure that a word should be ut- 
tered, that a sentence should be published, in favour of 
their elevation to freedom. To prevent this in some of 
the slave states, the most strict and sanguinary laws have 
been enacted, subjecting the man to death who shall 
open his lips in favour of the dumb ; and in the absence 
of such laws in otliers, men on the slightest suspicion of 
sympathy for the down trodden, have been seized by in- 
furiated mobs, and under mock forms of justice, treated 
with barbarous cruelty. Not satisfied with absolute do- 
mination in the dark land of the slaves, this sj)irit of des- 
potism is struggling to grasp and strangle Liberty in the 
free states, and to subdue all things to itself. The public 
mail has been broken open and rifled of its contents, that 
every thing tending to enlighten the public mind on the 
subject of Slavery might be destroyed. Printing presses 
have been again and again demolished, and their editors, 
humane and noble-minded men, hunted from place to 
place by blood-thirsty assassins. Peaceable assemblies 
have been violently assailed, and even females treated 
with abuse, because they wished to hear any thing on 
this subject. Oihcers of colleges have been driven from 
the seats of learning, and ministers'of the gospel dragged 
from the altars of God, because they testified against 
this oppression. The Legislatures of the North and 
East have been loudly called on by those of the South 
to silence effectually all discussion of this subject. In 
the absence of such laws, large premiums have, been 
publicly offered by slaveholders, for the heads of such 
men in the free states as they considered most forward 
and able in advocating the duty of emancipation. And 
now when the Editor of the " Alton Observer" could in 
no other way be silenced, he has been shot down, beside 
liis press, which slaveholders and their abettors greatly 



310 MTMOIR OF THE 

feared, and his murderers are suffered to go unpunished ; 
because the oflicers of justice either sympathize with, or 
fear their vengeance. Those balls which pierced his 
heart were aimed at the heart of Liberty ! Your liberty 
and mine ; and intended to strike every one dumb who 
had dared to advocate the rights and liberty of mankind. 
This spirit of slaveholding is intolerant of all opposition, 
however mild, and breathes out ihreatenings and slaughter 
against all who would by manly expostulation, induce it 
to relinquish its grasp upon the throats of its victims. 
What it has done to Lovejoy it threatens to do to others, 
who advocate the same cause. Is it not then violently 
intolerant of all freedom, which interferes in the least 
with its own acts of unjust and cruel oppression ? 

Secondly, The Alton tragedy has proved that by the 
power of truth the encroachments of the slaveholding 
spirit upon our liberties, may be effectually resisted and 
its reign every where in due season terminated. Why are 
slaveholders, and those who sympathize with them, so 
engaged against all, who by speech or the press, publish 
and animadvert on their laws and usages in regard to the 
coloured people ? Why do they stone public lecturers, 
demolish printing presses, and offer rewards for the 
heads of Abolitionists ? Why have they imbued their 
hands in the blood of our brother ? Why are they so highly 
exasperated when petitions are sent in to Congress, pray- 
ing for the termination of Slavery in the District of 
Columbia, and threaten the dissolution of the Union if 
those petitions are even read ? Why do they attempt to 
strike down any and every torch which throws its light 
upon them, as would a company of evil-doers, when at 
midnight suddenly detected in the midst of their nefari- 
ous decd.s by the officers of justice ? It is my friends, 
because there is a power in truth which the slaveholding 



REV, E. P. LOVEJOV. 311 

spirit cannot bear. It is conscious that its principles are 
unsound, tliat its doings are unjustifiable ; and therefore 
will not come unto the liglit ; will not suffer the li<rht to 
come into its dark and hateful dominions, lest it should 
be exposed and reproved. False statements it could 
easily refute ; but truth is endued with fearful energy. 
Before the power of speech and the press unrestrained, 
it cannot stand. It is sensible that it cannot, and is 
therefore making desperate efforts to prostrate and tram- 
ple down that power. If it fails in this attempt it knows 
that all its strongholds must be battered down ;that its 
deeds of oppression and violence must be abandoned. 
Let the light of truth, then, be poured upon this oppres- 
sive spirit and its doings, in stronger effulgence than ever. 
We have no need of carnal weapons in this aggressive 
warfare ; let the light of truth shine as it ought and the 
spirit of slaveholding will die of itself; nauseated, con- 
vulsed, and overwhelmed, with an insupportable convic- 
tion of its own loathsomeness. 

Thirdly, This terrible outbreaking of human wrath is 
furnishing slaveholders and those who favour their cause 
with evidence which must convince them, if not infatua- 
ted, that the freedom of speech and of the press cannot 
be suppressed by violence. True, printing presses have 
been and may again be destroyed, an editor of distin- 
guished worth has been shot down, because he insisted 
on the rights which the laws of his country had guaran- 
teed to him. Other editors may be assassinated. But 
the spirit of freemen has been aroused, and an abund- 
ance of other presses are ready for the service ; and 
other editors, talented, high-souled, and self-sacrificing 
men are ready to succeed to the place which the hand 
of violence has vacated. When men contend /or princi- 
ple, for what they deem their sacred and inalienable rights, 



312 MEMOIR OF THE 

threats and deeds of violence, and gag-laws cannot ef- 
fectually restrain them ; but on the contrary, they call 
forth the mighty, the indomitable, deathless energies of 
the soul to make more determined and persevering ef- 
forts. So it has been in all times past ; is now, and ever 
will be. 

Therefore, finally, We trust that God will make the 
wrath of man exhibited at x^lton, eminently instrumental 
of accomplishing the downfall of Slavery. The whole 
subject is undergoing a new examination, and the true 
nature of it is being better understood. Those who were 
previously enlisted in the cause of human rights are fired 
with new zeal, and grasp their principles with stronger 
determination to defend and propagate them. New friends 
are coming forth to enlist in the cause, and more will 
now, probably, be eflTccted in one year for the benefit of 
the down trodden, than would have been done in several, 
if this costly sacrifice of our brother's blood had not 
been poured out upon the altar of liberty — had not been 
shed in defence of his and our sacred rights. And on 
you, free men, free women, and free children, the voice 
of that blood, the groan of millions of your fellow-coun- 
trymen deprived of all their inalienable rights, the men- 
aces and outrages of slaveholders, and the authority of 
your God, are all, in different ways, but with concentra- 
ted power, calling loudly, that you see that no man de- 
prive you of your proper liberty, or be suffered to en- 
croach upon it at all ; that in the use of this liberty you 
never encroach on that of others or give countenance to 
those wlio do ; but boldly plead the cause of the oppress- 
ed; and never cease from an enlightened, benevolent, most 
determined and vigorous opposition to Slaver}% until you 
shall be released by death, or si .v-ry shall be extermi- 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 313 

nated from the world. Truth, benevolence, and equity, 
must, and will prevail. 

I would speak a word to this bereaved mother, and 
these other mourners, on whom this cruel outbreaking of 
wrath has burst with such desolating fury. But what 
can I say ? My dear friends enter into the secret cham- 
bers of divine love and protection, and there meditate on 
the character and government of God ; commit your- 
selves wholly unto him, to do and suffer all his pleasure ; 
and you will be sustained. Forget, as much as possible, 
your private griefs, and think of the excellent character 
of your and our beloved Elijah ; of his firmness unto 
death in maintaining truth and rectitude, of the glory to 
which his spirit, so devoted to God, has now attained ; 
of the honour which is paid to his memory by muUitudes 
who never personally, knew either you or him ; which 
will be paid by true patriots and philanthropists in coming 
ages ; of the immense benefits wliich will result from his 
martyrdom ; think of the emotions of gratitude and praise 
to God, with which emancipated millions will hereafter 
speak of his sufierings for their sake ; of the happiness 
which will be enjoyed by all mankind, when Slavery 
shall every where have ceased, and paternal love shall 
prevail among all the races of the great family of man ; 
think of the swiftly approaching day when you, if true 
Christians, will meet all the martyrs, indeed the whole 
company of the redeemed before the throne of God, and 
lift up your voices with them in everlasting songs of 
praise, even for the sulferings through which you are 
now destined to pass ; and you must, you will be com- 
forted. Trust my friends in the Lord, for in the Lord 
Jehovah is everlasting strength. He will cause the wrath 
of man to praise him, and the remainder of wrath he 
27 



314 MEMOIR OF THE 

will effectually restrain. To him be glory and dominion 
now and forever. Amen." 

The remainder of this, and the following chapter will 
be made up of expressions of public sentiment, variously 
uttered, in relation to his death and the circumstances 
connected with it. We can however only give a mere 
fraction of the numerous expressions of the press and of 
public meetings. The admirable address to the " Citi- 
zens of Alton" is from an unknown hand. It was sent 
to New York with the name and place of the author 
carefully concealed. The gentlemen whose speeches 
are inserted, will accept our sincere thanks, for their 
" sincere tribute of a swelling heart." 



RESOLUTIONS OF PUBLIC MEETINGS. 

BANGOR, MAINE. 

At a special meeting of the Bangor City Anti-Slavery 
Society, November 27th, 1837. Whereas the late Rev. 
Elijah P. Lovejoy, of Alton, Illinois, was a native of this 
stale, his aged and excellent mother and other members 
of the family being still resident in our vicinity, and well 
known to at least many of us — 

Resolved, That in our judgment, he was an intelligent, 
talented, upright, noble-hearted man ; a sincere and con- 
sistent Christian ; an able, independent, and faithful 
minister of the Gospel ; a liold, uncompromising enemy 
of oppression in all its forms ; a self-sacrificin«,' friend 
and defender of civil and religious liberty, of truth and 
righteousness, whose name and whose virtues deserve to 
be embalmed in the memory of every friend of God and 
man. 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 315 



BELFAST, MAINE. 



In pursuance of a notice previously given, a public 
meeting was holden at the North Church, on the evening 
of the 30th of November, 1837, for the discussion of reso- 
lutions expressive of the sentiments of our citizens, rela- 
tive to the assassination of the Rev. E. P. Lovejoy. The 
Hon. Alfred .lohnson being chosen chairman, and B. P. 
Field, Jr., secretary. The following resolutions were 
reported by a committee, discussed and unanimously 
adopted. 

Resolved, That in pursuance of the public notice 
which called this meeting, we have assembled, not as 
men of any party, civil or religious, but on the broad 
ground of American citizenship, to pass resolutions in 
regard to the topics specified, as truth and the good of 
our country may in our estimation demand. 

That the Rev. E. P. Lovejoy, a highly respected 
citizen, recently of this state, who was on the 7th inst. 
assassinated by a mob at Alton, in Illinois, in conse- 
quence of an attempt on his part to protect his property, 
liberty, and life, when no legal protection could be obtain- 
ed — has fallen a martyr in defence of rights which are 
guaranteed to every freeman by the constitutions of the 
general and state governments ; rights of which our 
country has made her highest boast, and which are dear 
to every American citizen. 

PLYMOUTH, NEW HAMPSHIRE. 

Meeting of Abolitionists, December 13th, 1837 
Resolved, That this meeting and the people throughout 
this land, have a vital and solemn interest in the death of 
the Rev. E. P. Lovejoy, late Editor of the " Alton Ob- 
server," who has fallen by the hands of our countrymen, 



216 BIEMOIR OF THE 

in defence of the liberty of the press, in one of the non- 
slaveholding states of this republic. 

That on the citizens of iniluence and office in Alton — 
on " the property and standing" of that bloody little city, 
and not on the poor, infuriated and drunken mob who 
were their instruments, rests immediately before God 
and impartial human judgment, the guilt of this riot and 
murder. 

That the only preventive of these mobs which now out- 
rage the whole land, and threaten to prostrate all law and 
security at their ruffian feet, is in the prevalence and tri- 
umph of anti-slavery principles — in other words — the 
Abolition of .Slavery. 

DORCHESTER, NEW HAMPSHIRE, AXTI-SLAVER Y SOCIETY. 

Resolved, That we consider the conduct of the Attor- 
ney-General, of the State of Illinois, at a meeting a few 
days previous to the murder, in stating publicly that Mr. 
Lovejoy, would be killed within two weeks, worthy of 
the frowns of an injured community. 

That, as application was made by Mr. Lovejoy to the 
Common Council of Alton, to defend his person and pro- 
perty from violence, the Council by refusing to comply 
with his request, well knowing the imminent danger to 
which he was exposed, are guilty of his blood. 

CHICHESTER, NEW HAMPSHIRE. 

At a public meeting of citizens in the Congregational 
meeting-house, December 14th, 1837. 

Resolved, That we commend the decision, firmness, 
and courage of the Rev. E. P. Lovejoy in his endeavours 
to establish and sustain a free religious press at Alton, Illi- 
nois ; — who, though deserted l)y the civil powers, which, 
by the constitution and laws of the state, and by solemn 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 317 

oaths, were pledged for his protection, yet, not acting for 
himself merely, but in behalf of insulted humanity, and 
the liberty of speech and of the press, and in behalf of 
posterity, — nobly withstood unrighteous and murderous 
violence, and died a martyr to the holy cause of right, 
and truth, and freedom. 

CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE. 

That in the destruction of the " Alton Observer," the 
freedom of conscience and of religious opinion was 
assailed, and that it specially behooves the pulpit and 
the PRESS to lift up their voices in vindication and defence 
of that freedom, and against any attempt to infringe its 
full exercise. 

That in the opinion of this meeting, the blood of E. P. 
Lovejoy is no less an offering in behalf of the constitu- 
tional rights of American freemen, than it is in behalf of 
the enslaved. 

NEW HAMPSHIRE A. S. SOCIETY. 

Resolved, That our beloved brother, the late E. P. 
Lovejoy, in laying down his life in vindication of his just 
rights, has become a martyr not only to the doctrines of 
Abohtion^hui to the principles of law and order ; and 
that the blow aimed at him in the destruction of his Ufe 
and property, has struck at the liberties and rights of 
every American citizen, and of every human being. 

That the persevering determination of Mr. Lovejoy to 
publish his paper at Alton, his exposure of property and 
life, and firm resistance even unto death, of the outrageous 
and murderous attempts to destroy his press, so far from 
a spirit of obstinacy and reckless defiance, was the result 
of a duty which he owed to the principles of liberty, tho 
rights of conscience, and the freedom of the press, and 
should be honoured and revered by every Christian and 

freeman. 

27* 



318 MEMOIR OF THE 

MARLBORO', MASSACHUSETTS. 

That we view the Rev. Mr. Lovejoy, who lately fell 
at Alton, Illinois, without reference to the particular 
cause in which he was engaged, as a martyr to the great 
and inestimable rights of the freedom of the press, and 
freedom of discussion. 

PLYMOUTH, MASSACHUSETTS, ANTI-SLAVERY SOCIETY. 

Resolved, That we have every reason to believe that 
had the citizens of Alton been faithful in sustaining the 
laws of the land, and in frowning upon the conduct of 
those wlio destroyed the press of Mr. Lovejoy, the blood 
of that good man would not, as it now does, cry to Hea- 
ven for vengeance, on those \f ho have been accessary to 
his death. 

That the much lamented Lovejoy, in asserting his 
undoubted and constitutional right, the right of enjoying 
and protecting life, liberty, and property, in refusing to 
yield to the threatening dictation of a blood-thirsty mob, 
thereby sacrificing his life as a martyr in the holy cause 
of Abolition, deserves a name to be held in everlasting 
remembrance. 

WASHINGTON COUNTY, NEW YORK. 

That the martyrdom of the Rev. Mr. Lovejoy, had no 
Other provocation than his untiring zeal in attempting to 
continue a religious newspaper, whose columns were 
open to the free discussion of the great princifiles of 
freedom embodied in the declaration of independence. 

That all those citizens, whether in the editorial chair 
or elsewhere, who persist in representing his death as the 
consequence of the rash attempt on his part, to establish 
an Abolition paper on the frontier of Slavery, arc either 
wilfully ignorant, or wickedly perverse. 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 319 

COLOURED CITIZENS OF NEW YORK. 

Public meeting, November 23d, at the Rev. Theodore 
S. Wright's Church. 

Resolved, That we most cordially respond to the I'eel- 
ings and views embodied in the proceedings of the Ex- 
ecutive Committee of Am. A. S. Society, touching the de- 
liberate and brutal murder of the Rev. Elijah P. Love- 
joy, who gave up his life on the 7th of November, in sus- 
taining the liberty of the press and the holy principles of 
Abolition, to which he was honoured of God to become 
the first Martyr in this nation. 

That in common with the friends of law, order, and 
oppressed humanity of our nation, we solemnly deplore 
and mourn the loss of this holy and able advocate of the 
rights of man, and express our deep and heartfelt sympa- 
thy for his heroic wife, who has been thus painfully be- 
reaved of a kind and faithful husband ; and implore the 
blessings of the God of the oppressed, to descend upon 
her, and her dear fatherless children. 

PHILADELPHIA. 

At a large public meeting of the citizens of the 
Northern Liberties, held on the evening of the 27th in- 
stant, at the Temperance Hall, in pursuance of a call of 
the committee of arrangement of a former meeting, held 
for the purpose of expressing and making known their 
sentiments in relation to the late murder of the Rev. E. 
P. Lovejoy, at Alton, Illinois, for the great crime of 
maintaining his rights as an American citizen, and also 
for the purpose of expressing their opinions in relation 
to the right oi free discussion, and the liberty of the 
press. 

After an address by Judge Price, it was unanimously 
Resolvedj That the right of free discussion, though 



320 MEMOIR OF THE 

guaranteed, was not conferred by our constitution and 
laws of our country, but that it is the gift of God, and 
inherent in our moral nature, and therefore a right which 
human government cannot take away. 

That the exercise of the right of free discussion is 
essential to the maintenance and security of our other 
rights ; and that without this, other rights would be of 
little value. 

That, should the public apathy continue to give tole- 
ration and immunity to mobs, while their fury is directed 
against the advocates of human rights, we must not be 
surprised when artful demagogues shall mount the whirl- 
wind and direct the storm, against the property, the peace, 
and the lives of other portions of the community. 

SUSQCEHANNAH, PENNSYLVANIA COUNTY. 

That so long as the right of a citizen to defend his 
property, himself, and his country, shall be acknowledg- 
ed, so long ought the noble daring of E. P. Lovejoy, and 
the " sublimity of his heroism,'' to awaken universal ad- 
miration, and elicit universal applause. 

That duty to his country, duty to the cause of liberty, 
required that Mr. Lovejoy should stand thus firmly upon 
his inalienable rights, and in yielding up his life in obe- 
dience to that duty, is and ought of right to be, honoured 
as a martyr in the cause of the human race. 

PORTAGE COUNTY ANTI-SLAVERY SOCIETY. 

Resolved, That it is the imperious duty of all who 
would cherish our free institutions to discountenance in 
a becoming manner the high handed act of violence and 
outrage. 

That Mr. Lovejoy laid down his life in a cause worthy 
of so noble a sacrifice, the cause of free discussion, of 
human rights, and the freedom of the press. 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 321 

That his name should ever be held in remembrance as 
the heroic friend and devoted advocate of those free in- 
stitutions, which the patriots of the Revolution, like him, 
freely laid down their lives to establish and maintain. 

SALEM, OHIO. 

This meeting, convened without distinction of sect or 
party, having had a statement of the late riot at Alton, 
Illinois, laid before it, deerns it advisable that an expres- 
sion of abhorrence should be set forth, and that its hum- 
ble voice should constitute one item in the strong eflbrt 
now being made to arouse the sleepers, (if it be not too 
late.) 

Resolved, That to withhold a decided expression of 
disapprobation regarding the Alton tragedy, is virtually 
giving it our sanction. 

That we pledge ourselves to each other and to the 
community, to spare no exertions, to protect men in their 
rights when pursuing lawful vocations, and to vindicate 
the supremacy of the laws. 

That when an individual or a community announces 
the expectation of a mob, it virtually invites one ; and 
that there has rarely been a riot in our country in which 
the instigators and actors were the same persons. " The 
people will be excited." " We shall be unable to prevent 
violence," with similar expressions, are significant, and 
seldom fail to produce that excitement and its concomi- 
tants, which they cunningly and hypocritically depre- 
cate. 

That the " compromise" meeting at Alton, together with 
the course of the Mayor and other civil authorities, had 
the direct tendency adverted to in the last resolution. 

That before we willtamely submit to have our lips sealed 
at the bidding of mobocratic despotism, we will suffer our 
bodies to be immolated on the spot upon which we may 



3'22 MEMOIR OF THE 

perish contending for our rights, and our name to be en- 
rolled with that of E. P. Lovejoy, as martyrs to the 
cause of law, of liberty, and of free discussion. 



VOICE OF THE PRESS. 

The blood of Mr. Lovejoy, we believe, lies at the 
door of civil authority. They have slept for weeks and 
months over the heating volcano, and they knew they 
were doinff this ; and they, we believe, were rather will- 
ing it should be so. We believe Mr. Lovejoy has fallen 
a sacrifice to liberty, and that the voice of his blood will 
only be appeased by the triumph of this principle. And 
we can cheerfully add, in the language of a cotempo- 
rary, " Thus died the first martyr in the cause of Aboli- 
tionism. Long will his name be used as a talisman in 
that cause, and the mention of it will infuse new vigour 
into its swelling ranks, and incite its votaries to renew- 
ed action and fresh energies, until every fetter is sunder- 
ed, and every chain broken. May God hasten the day." 
Maine Weslcyan Journal. 

The hand so often raised to bless, lies powerless ; the 
lips which moved in prayer, will move no more — his spirit, 
so gentle, yet so firm, is happy with its God. His af- 
fectionate wife, who so lately perilled her life in defend- 
incr his, was by the last accounts still insensible — ^^liis 
children are fatherless, and their mother a widow. Who 
would say the work of the murderer is incomplete ? 
They desired to silence him, and he is dead — and the 
press they feared is destroyed. And yet, though Love- 
joy has earned the crown of martyrdom, and been taken 
from among us, he speaketh, and in a voice of thunder 
that shall penetrate where his living voice would never 
have been heard — and move thousands of hearts which 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 323 

his arguments never could have moved. — Mai/ir, Purt- 
land Transcript 

Mr. Lovejoy was educated in this vicmiiN, and was 
regarded as a younp^ man of great promise. This idea 
of mobbing and killing people to stop the freedom of 
speech and of the press, will never do in this age and 
country. — Gospel Banner. 

The curse of God be on the heads of the infernal 
mob. This will do more for the Abolition cause, than 
could a score of presses and a hundred missionaries. 
Lovejoy was a native of Albion, Maine. He has died a 
martyr in the cause of liberty of speech and the press. — 
Belfast Journal. 

A martyred Lovejoy has unloosed the tongues of 
thousands, and compelled them to speak out for God and 
their country. That oppressed portion of our fellow- 
men, however degraded by the awful curse of Slavery, 
for whom he laboured, have, by his martyrdom and death, 
gained a phalanx of firm and decided friends. Instead, 
then, of being disheartened, let the friends of freedom 
and the press arise from their lethargy ; let them urge 
with ten-fold more earnestness the cause of their coun- 
trymen in chains — let the pulpit Uft up its voice — let 
the fervent orisons of all the professed followers of Him 
who " went about doing good," ascend on high — let every 
one who fears God and loves man, be filled with a new, 
a reanimating impulse to press forward in the cause of 
freedom, until every chain is broken ; and soon shall we 
see the oppressed delivered out of the hand of the spoiler, 
and our country saved from a fearful destiny. — Maine, 
Eastern Baptist. 

The civil authorities, to their deep disgrace, did not 
attempt to shield this freeman, battling to protect the 
freedom of speech, of the press, and of all the sacred 



324 MEMOIR OF THE 

rights secured to the citizens by the constitution of these 
United States. Lovejoy was a man of talents, piety, and 
worth, whose untimely fate will not only be mourned by 
all who knew and honoured him, but it will long be 
mourned by all who cleave to the freedom of speech, and 
of the press, as the sheet anchor of our liberties. — New 
Hampshire Courier. 

It is not merely for the murder of E. P. Lovejoy as a 
man, the image of God smitten down by the hand of 
fierce wrath, that we should mourn and cry aloud — but' 
for the deadly blow struck at liberty, as impersonated 
in that man, for the violence done to democratic and 
Christian principle, for the outrage committed against 
rights, inalienable and immutable, the birth-right and 
possession of every human being. Not only has a min- 
ister of the gospel been martyred for attempting, in 
meekness and firmness, to obey the departing command 
of the Saviour — " Go ye into all the world and preach 
the gospel to every creature''^ — but the dearest and holiest 
right which all ministers possess — freedom of speech — 
has been assailed. Not only has an editor been mur- 
dered for publishing Ids opinions, but the press through- 
out the country has had an outrage committed on it, and 
the rights which every editor possesses have been rudely 
and ruthlessly violated. — New Hampshire, Herald of 
Freeman. 

The refusal of the civil authorities to extend efficient 
protection to Mr. Lovejoy, while it was well known by 
those authorities that his life was sought, and in immi- 
nent danger, day after day, and week after week ; the 
Attorney-General of the state having himself declared, 
a short lime previous to the actual accomplishment of 
the tragical event, that Mr. Lovejoy would be destroyed 
in less than a fortnight — the neglect, as far as we have 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 325 

heard, in the same authorities, since the commission of 
the bloody deed, to take any measures for bringing the 
murderers to justice — tlie wicked hardihood of some 
public journals in excusing the murderous mob from 
blame, and casting the responsibility and guilt altogether 
upon the innocent, butchered victim — the slight manner 
in which many others pass over the subject, some being 
quite dumb in relation thereto — the extensive insensi- 
bility of our citizens, and even of some, if not many pro- 
fessed Christians, even ministers — all these circum- 
stances, and more circumstances than these, indicate a 
danger that this nation will not, by thorough repent- 
ance, and by executing justice upon the guilty, put away 
that BLOOD GUILTINESS witli which, in the sight of the 
just Judge of all the earth, it is now so deeply stained. — 
New Hampshire^ Morning Star. 

He died in defence of what should ever be dear to 
American citizens, the right of free discussion, subject 
to the law — but in a portion of our land, the law has no 
restraint. We hope the murderers will yet be identified 
and punished. It should be remembered, that Bishop 
was killed previously by a random shot from the castle 
— every man's house is his own castle — and that no re 
sistance with fire-arms was made, until the mob had 
broken the windows of the building, fired into it, and at- 
tempted to set it on fire. Had half a dozen been killed, 
and the mob so dispersed, it would have been perfectly 
justifiable, and far better than that one man should have 
lost his life in defence of his property, and constitutional 
rights. — N^cw Hampshire Kerne Sentinel. 

In the main, the tone of the press betokens a sound 
and healthy state of public feeling. In some few in- 
stances the comments of editors have been little short of 
cold blooded apology for the murderers. If we mistake 
28 



326 MEMOIR OF THE 

not, this ofTering of blood upon the altar of free discus- 
sion, will arouse the nation to a just sense of its hitherto 
criminal indifference and apathy on this subject, and lead 
to an assertion of the right, thus smitten down by mob 
violence, that shall forever place it beyond question. — 
Vermont Argus. 

Thus has fallen — in the very place to which he was 
invited — unprotected by " the friends offr^ie discussion" 
— in a free state, the first martyr to the cause of human- 
ity. The theatre of murders, of bloody and outrageous 
deeds of infamy, has been transferred from Vicksburg 
to Alton. Let this place be forever remembered — let its 
name be written in the catalogue of all that is execrable 
— let the emigrant avoid it as he values his liberty — let 
him pass by on the other side of this Sodom of the West, 
lest, if he should tarry in it, the wrath of insulted heaven 
in fire and water, should descend and destroy the place, 
with its wicked, pusillanimous, and shameless inhabit- 
ants, who, like base cowards, permitted the murder of 
one of their fellow-citizens. There can be no excuse 
ofiered on their part. Their duty was plain — they should 
have armed themselves, rallied in support of the Mayor, 
and shot down, without ceremony, the first and every in- 
vader of the rights of citizenship. — Vermont Caledonian. 

The murdered I.ovejoy died, a Martyr to the free- 
dom OF THE PRESS. It was a noble cause. Looking 
upon him as a freeman, bravely labouring for the right; 
as a patriot, taking his own life in his hands, as of less 
consequence than the establishment of one of the dearest 
and most precious blessings of our free constitution, we 
would embalm his memory, and plant the emblem of im- 
mortality to grow above his grave. 

As a patriot, a lover of the constitution and laws of 
his country, and the rights of freemen, his name should 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 327 

be written beside those venerable compeers wlio have 
battled with the minions of corrupt power, and the doc- 
trines of man's inferiority. 

Why was it that Lovejoy was left to struggle alone 
for a common right ? Where were the executors of the 
law ? Where the Common Council of Alton, and es- 
pecially the Mayor, its chief executive officer ? The 
oflicial station of the Mayor, made it his duty to exert 
himself to the utmost in calling out the moral and physi- 
cal force of the city, to suppress every outbreak. He 
should have aroused the Common Council, and when 
hints of slaughter were openly proclaimed, and deeply 
muttered, he should have prepared himself for a vigorous 
defence — more — he should have carried the war into 
Africa, and seized the cold-blooded villains, who were 
daily threatening to trample, rough shod, upon the rights 
of property and life. A noble-hearted freeman should 
have been protected in the assertion and exercise of his 
rights. But where do we lind the Mayor, with the robes 
of his oflicial station ? and how employed ? Doing the 
bidding of an unlawful mob — the obedient messenger, 
the pliant servant, the supple attorney for the destroyers, 
to demand of a free citizen a surrender of property, of 
liberty and principle, or be murdered on the spot ! How 
his craven heart and his degraded station, and violated 
oath of ofllce, must have blanch<'d his cheek with the 
mantle of shame and disgrace, when, in return to such a 
demand, he received the spirit stirring and noble reply, 
that they had assembled to protect their property against 
laiclcss violence, and were determined to do so. A Mayor, 
with a little of the good old blood of our revolutionary 
fathers, woidd sooner have breasted the storm by a rally 
among the police, and his chosen friends, and laid his 



328 BIEMOIR OF THE 

body upon the threshhold of the store, and died like a 
patriot in defence of law and liberty. 

Let him occupy the niche to which fame now points ! 
— Vermont, BraUhborough Phcenix. 

"We have to record this week one of the most atrocious 
and cold-blooded murders ever committed. Rev. E. P. 
Lovejoy, late Editor of the " Alton (Illinois) Observer" 
— a man alike distinguished for his piety, and for his 
devotion to the sacred cause of liberty — has been mur- 
dered by a brutal mob. No crime is charged against 
him — no palliation for this monstrous outrage is to be 
given — unless firmly and fearlessly to advocate the sa- 
cred cause of the oppressed, is a crime worthy of death, 
or an excuse for the shedding of human blood! He has 
fallen a martyr in the cause of freedom — a victim of the 
accursed system of Slavery. To shed his blood, slave- 
holders, or their emissaries, invaded the limits, disturbed 
the peace, and violated the laws of a free state ; and we 
fear these assassins have also succeeded in making their 
escape, and found a sanctuary in the slave state of Mis- 
souri. It would only be carrying out the spirit of this 
atrocious act, should the government of Missouri refuse 
any aid in arresting the perpetrators. But we shall see. 
— Vermont Watchman. 

Incarnate fiends and assassins have robbed a wife of a 
husband, children of a father, and society of a pure 
minded man ; for what ? Because he stood under a 
shield of the constitution, and defended the liberty of the 
press. A glorious cause to die in ! Let his memory be 
embalmed. The blood of that innocent man will not 
sink into the ground. It will be required at the hands 
of all those who have raised this infernal spirit of mob- 
ism against free discussion and a free press. The blood 
of a murdered Lovejoy is on the heads of those men, 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOy. 329 

who, on the 17th of August, 1836, assembled in Fancuil 
Hall, to vote down free discussion, and whose hands af- 
terwards were barely stayed from being reeked in the 
blood of Garrison. Free discussion has now her martyr, 
and it will rouse men who have souls, to the defence of 
that dearest right, as did the murder of Morgan, to the 
defence of the rights of free citizens against a secret 
despotism. — Boston Daily Advocate. 

Vicksburgh has for some time enjoyed a pre-eminence 
of murderous notoriety ; but Alton, Illinois, has lately 
stepped forward to dispute this unenviable station, and 
has far outrun Vicksburgh in the career of blood and in- 
famy. The people of Vicksburgh acted under a sudden 
impulse ; the people of Alton are responsible for a de- 
liberate and long plotted murder. They have not only 
violated the law, they have trampled also upon the 
rights of hospitality — in every honourable mind, more 
sacred, if possible, even than the laws themselves. — 
Boston Atlas. 

The Moloch of America, (Slavery,) demands the sac- 
rifice of a citizen, a Christian, a philantliropist, a min- 
ister of the gospel, a noble defender of the rights of man, 
and straightway it is given by his devotees, to gratify his 
ire, which burns agamst the philanthropists of the age. 
This is only the commencement. The spirit of Slavery 
demands the sacrifice, not only of the rights and dearest 
privileges of American citizens, but their lives and their 
blood also. Silence or death is the mandate of the evil 
genius of Slavery. Lovojoy is dead ! May liis mantle 
fall upon a kindred spirit, who sliall accomplish tlio work 
which he began. We trust that the Abolitionists of 
America will never cease their etforts till a free press is 
established at Alton, which shall pour forth a Hood of 
light, that will scatter the midnight darkness now hover- 
28* 



330 MEMOIR OF THE 

ing over that devoted city. From thence, may a light 
shine out and blaze upon the naked conscience of every 
oppressor and mobocrat in the land. There may the 
spirit of Lovojoy live, and still, by his example, his suf- 
ferings, and blood, continue to speak in tones of thunder 
to this nation, till every heart is made to quail before the 
omnipotent truth in the defence of which he died. — 
Boston Christian. 

Do you ask why these men hated Mr. Lovejoy so ? 
It was not so much because they hated him, as because 
ihey wished to please the slaveholders, that they killed 
him. He believed it was wicked to hold slaves, and he 
tried to convince all the readers of the " Observer" that 
the slaves had a right to their liberty. This was the 
truth ; but those who love Slavery were not willing to 
have the truth told. They therefore destroyed the 
presses, and murdered the man who dared to use them, 
to publish such truths. 

We see by this that the spirit of slave-holding is the 
spirit of murder. The tyrants of Europe and Asia are 
not willing to have men print what they please, for fear 
their subjects should become wise enough to know that 
they have a right to be free. But in this case, the peo- 
ple in a state called free, unite in killing a man for 
publishing facts about Slavery in another state. — Boston 
Cabinet. 

Another noble heart is added to the angel choir above, 
who lean eagerly from their high sphere to watch our 
course and cheer us onward, in the deliverance of the 
slave. We have been too tame and too slow. Oh I 
shall the blood of this first martyr sink into the earth for 
nought? No. Let the anti-slavery presses thunder 
anew, and louder than ever! Let all those who have 
hung back from prudential motives now come up to the 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 331 

help of the Lord and show what side they are on — let 
them boldly assert their principles, in the pulpit, in the 
domestic circle, and in the public streets, until the whole 
country is agitated from Maine to New Orleans, until the 
bloody south reels and trembles beneath the shock as if 
an earthquake rent her unhallowed borders. Let us in- 
sist strenuously and more strenuously than ever that our 
captive brethren shall be free. The manacled hands of 
those dusky millions are raised to Heaven in earnest 
prayer for one breath of that sweet liberty about which 
our native orators are howling in the public halls, as if 
in mockery of their fettered countrymen. Let not the 
widow's tears be dry before those chains are riven — let 
not the moans of the fatherless be hushed before this 
high-handed and damning enormity is swept from our 
land. The disenthralled spirit of Lovejoy is hovering 
around us as we write, and a voice from his tomb cries, 
Onward! the time is come! — Boston Wanderer. 

What freeman — who but a savage, or cold-hearted 
murderer would now go to Alton ? Meanness, infamy, 
and guilt are attached to the very name. Hereafter, 
when a criminal is considered too base for any known 
punishment, it will be said of him — " he ought to be ban- 
ished to Alton ;" or, " he ought to be banished to a place 
as vile and infamous as Alton^'' — a place where freedom 
is disowned — where the defenders of freedom are mur- 
dered by the consent of the inhabitants — where the in- 
habitants themselves are land pirates — where the Attor- 
ney-General, the representative of the state, instead of 
bringing criminals to judgment, encourages — spurs them 
on, to the perpetration of the foulest crimes, the basest 
murder; and the Mayor of the city sits as a judge advo- 
cate for the mob. — Massachusetts Lynn Record. 

The press throughout the country, ought to raise its 



332 MEMOIR OF THE 

voice against the conduct of the Mayor of Alton, during 
the late riot at that place. Taking his own account of 
the transaction, he is an accessary before the fact, as 
well as at the very time of its perpetration to the horrid 
crimes of arson and murder. Not only did he neglect 
to exert hi.s authority, and the authority of the law to quell 
the riot — but he identified himself with the mob, by be- 
coming their messenger, to ask of Lovejoy and his asso- 
ciates the surrendering of their property and their rights, 
and to threaten them with the consequences which 
ensued, if they failed to comply. Is he not, then, as 
guilty as the worst incendiary present on that fearful 
occasion. — Worcester Republican. 

Mr. Lovejoy was a clear and vigorous writer; open, 
manly, and fearless in the declaration of his sentiments, 
active and industrious in editorial labours. He was 
guilty of few errors, except such as arose from the too 
great haste of a benevolent heart, intent on doing good, 
and ready to sacrifice self for its accomplishment. The 
St. Louis Observer, which he established and conducted 
to its close, was a paper of more than usual interest. He 
engaged warmly in the controversy with the Roman 
Catholics. He stated that the true cause of the hostility 
against him was, his opposition to Popery ; and that the 
charge of Abolitionism was fabricated as an excuse for 
the attack, and as a means of exciting odium against him. 
— New York Observer. 

Where were the civil energies of Alton ? Where was 
their regard for American character ? Where their 
regard for the cause of the slave, the liberty of the north, 
the rights of man, and the laws of God ? Where was 
the" Mayor in this hour of peril ? According to his own 
self-condemning evidence, wailing with imbecility or 
connivance to behold the .sacrifice, siding with the 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOV. 333 

assailants, and meanly asking the property to be given 
up as the only price of peace. But where was the vic- 
tim — where the devoted Lovejoy ? In his place, ready 
to be ofiered. He stood forth an American citizen, and 
in the assertion and exercise of all the great rights of 
man, he fell a martyr to the liberty of the press, and to 
the cause of the slave, in the land of the free ! Was it 
for this that Washington, Hancock, Franklin, Jefferson, 
Adams, Henry, and Lafayette (peace to the ashes of the 
Frenchman ! he died in season) toiled and bled ? Was 
it for this that the Declaration of Independence was 
signed, and a government organized which guarantees to 
every citizen the inalienable rights of life, liberty, 
AND THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS ? — New York Evan<T(list. 

It now remains to be seen, whether the perpetrators of 
this atrocious crime will be made to pay the penalty of 
life, or whether they will be suffered to go unpunished. 
If the latter, then we may truly say that the rights of 
American citizens are but a name ; that our laws are in- 
adequate to the protection of life and property, or even 
to the vindication of their own majesty against trans- 
gressors. 

Mr. Lovejoy we understand, was a man of excellent 
character and moral worth ; and the only fault, it is pre- 
sumed, which his murderers could allege against him, 
was, that he was an Abolitionist, and was determined to 
publish an Abolition paper at Alton. It ought to be re- 
collected, however, that he had once changed his place 
of publication in consequence of popular excitement, 
having established his paper originally at St. Louis. 

The enemies of Abolition must be very stupid indeed, 
if they expect to put it down, in this free country, by mob 
violence, and especially by assassination and murder. 
The old maxim, that " the blood of the mnrtvrs is the 



334 ML.MOIR OF THE 

seed of the churcli," is just as true in tke case of Aboli- 
tion, and for similar reasons. — iVf to York Journal of 
Commerce. 

For our own part, we approve, we applaud, we would 
consecrate, if we could, to universal honour, the conduct 
of those who bled in this gallant defence of the freedom 
of the press. Whether they erred or not in their opinion, 
they did not err in the conviction of their rights as citi- 
zens of a democratic government, to express them ; nor 
did they err in defending this right with an obstinacy 
which yielded only to death and the utmost violence. — 
Evening Post. 

We loathe and abhor the miserable cant of those that 
talk of Mr. Lovejoy as guilty of " resisting public opi- 
nion." Public opinion, forsooth ! What right have five 
hundred or five thousand to interfere with the lawful ex- 
pression of a free man's sentiments because they happen 
to number more than those who think with him ? We 
spurn the base tyranny — this utter denial of all rights, 
save as the tender mercies of a mob shall vouchsafe 
them. If Mr. Lovejoy's views were erroneous, let them 
be refuted ; if his motives were corrupt, (but this is not 
pretended,) let them be exposed and contemned ; if his 
actions were unlawful, let them be lawfully punished, 
liut, right or wrong, none of these were belter or worse 
for the fact that they were unacceptable to the majority. 
He had as perfect and absolute a right to proclaim and 
defend his sentiments in Illinois, where nine-tenths may 
be opposed to thoin, as though all were enthusiastic in 
their favour ; and he who would deny or in the least de- 
gree abridge this right, is an enemy to freedom, and a 
hypocrite if he dare pretend to republicanism. — New 
Yorker. 

The blow by which Mr. Lovejoy fi-U, was aimed not 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOV. 335 

at him only. His body \vas cut down merely because 
it stood between the press and the weapon raised for its 
destruction. But that l)h)w has fallen upon erery press 
in this nation. And the death of that man calls 

WITH A thousand TONGUES, IN TRUMPET TONES UPON 

THE PRESS for redress. Surely no one can doubt for a 
moment, but a corrupted, lime-serving press, has created 
that state of feeling which has resulted in this tragical 
event, especially when it is seen how such papers as the 
Courier and Enquirer, the New York Gazette, and some 
others, speak of this horrid outrage, calling it an Aboli- 
tion mob, and throwing the whole blame upon the mur- 
dered Lovejoy. — A^ew York Zioii's Watchman. 

A Great Man has Fallen. — The martyrdom of the 
Rev. E. P. Lovejoy has excited among our brethren a 
spirit of holy ambition and action, calculated to emanci- 
pate a world. The combined powers of all the tmbodud 
and disembodied tyrants in the universe, cannot withstand 
it. The enlightened abhorrence of our people, to op- 
pression of every kind, will be a powerful engine in ex- 
pelling; Slavery and caste, from our otherwise favoured 
land. 

Coloured men cannot be enslaved nor oppressed much 
longer in America. Slavery and oppression are exotics, 
which can never become indigenous in an American 
climate, nor soil. They may be forced for a while, but 
the time must of necessity be short. — Nnc York Coloured 
American. 

The issue is now fairly made up, whether the laws or 
the mob is to prevail — wliother the press, so long the 
boasted palladium of our liberties, is to be the sport of 
popular passion, or whether it shall be protected and 
secured by the laws. 

Mr. Lovejoy is said to have been a man of higli 



336 MEMOIR OF THE 

character and worth. As an Abolitionist he had the same 
right to print and pnblish, as the advocates of Slavery. 
We trust this horrid transaction will not be allowed to 
sleep without some more general and formidable expres- 
sions of public feeling than mere newspaper notices, 
important as they certainly are. The innocent blood 
shed at Alton, unavenged, must remain an indelible na- 
tional stain. 

The whole country will be held responsible for it 
abroad, and who that has the spirit of a man, but must 
hang his head and blush, when he reflects that in this 
vaunted land a ferocious mob may violate with impunity 
all the private and personal rights of a peaceable citi- 
zen—shoot him down as they would a wild beast — fire 
his house, and save his family and friends from indis- 
criminate slaughter only on condition of private obe- 
dience to its demands ! Shame be to us, if we let this 
thing pass ! — Newark Daily Advertiser. 

Alton Massacre. — The thrill of sensibility which 
seems to have been produced by the murder of Rev. E. 
P. Lovejoy, at Alton, has called forth from every part of 
the land, a burst of indignation which has not had its 
parallel in this country since the battle of Lexington, 
1775. One thing which appears from looking over our 
exchange papers, has struck us with amazement, and that 
is, that the most decided expressions of disapprobation 
and abhorrence of the dead are from the slaveholding 
states. With a large list of southern papers before us, 
we find not one attempt at an apology for the murderous 
outrage. The only apologists for it are found in our 
northern cities, and among editors who have a circula- 
tion at the south, and some others who have a pecuniary 
intorest in retaining thf favour of southern customers. 

The question, whether law or mobs shall rule, must bo 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 337 

decided. And if the blood of Warren llowcd not guiltily 
forth on Bunker's Hill, in resisting the despotism of 
England, the very angels of freedom must have hovered 
around Lovejoy as the warm current of his heart ebbed 
away, in resistance to the infinitely worse despotism of 
lawlessness and mobs. The right of discussing the 
subject of Slavery is now the very Thermopylae of Ameri- 
can freedom. Let this right be surrendered, and what 
comes next ? Why, the Whig or the Tory press must 
be silenced by the voice of the ruling party, or torn down 
by riotous mobs ; and the politician must count the 
people before he can dare to attack or defend the bank ; 
and then Unitarian churches must blaze before orthodox 
mobs, or evangelical piety flee away before the success- 
ful riots of infidelity. Our liberties hinge upon the de- 
cision of this question. We ought to be ready to sacri- 
fice every thing that is dear in life, rather than in such 
an hour as this to shrink from duty. Life without liberty 
is of little worth ; and if we cannot enjoy the privilege 
of speaking freely and of writing freely, we ought like 
Lovejoy, freely to die. — Boston Recorder. 
29 



CHAPTER XVI. 



TO THE CITIZENS OF ALTON. 

Years have elapsed since I enjoyed the hospitaUty of 
your then infant settlement. Since then I have never 
ceased to feel a lively interest in your prosperity. Most 
gratifying have been the reports of your growing wealth 
and commerce, and, especially, of your liberality, correct 
morals, and enlightened public sentiment. Should the 
domestic institutions of bordering states ever enfeeble in 
them the spirit of freedom, among you, it was hoped, she 
would still be found vigorous and hardy as your own 
giant youth. Against the invasion of servile sentiment, 
here, it was presumed, would be an impregnable barrier 
— here, the rights of man were to find a sanctuary, the 
persecuted of any name, or of however delusive a creed, 
were to obtain constitutional protection. Should the 
lights of American liberty elsewhere grow dim, amid 
your wild cliflTs her torch was still to burn, as brightly as 
on Bunker's heights, or the Plymouth Rock. These an- 
ticipations, in sorrow, not in anger I say it, are no more. 
They have been most cruelly swept away. The asso- 
ciations connected with you, in the public mind, I need 
not tell you, are sadly, fearfully changed ; the bright 
colours have faded, and dark, and dismal, and bloody 
hues are on them. A tumultuary, lawless, fanatic power, 
overmastering or overawing the civil authority, enslaving 
public sentiment — paralyzing the public conscience — 
freezing with fear the sympathies of even the generous, 



MEMOIR OF THE REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 339 

the intelligent, and the good, and, with a few noble ex- 
ceptions, making the mind of your whole city hold its 
breath, and crouch in silence before it — ferocity victorious 
over right, brute force over free opinion — a gang of ruf- 
fians claiming to be regulators of speech and the press, 
usurping the name of the people, and grasping in the 
same polluted clutch, the functions of accuser, judge, 
and executioner — " making night hideous" with their 
loathsome triumph — in tlic presence of unresisting mul- 
titudes, demolishing buildings, firing your city, publicly 
murdering an American citizen for the crime of exercis- 
ing rights, most sacredly guaranteed to him by the Con- 
stitution of the United States, and the state of Illinois — 
and finally, with fiendish malignity, and a meanness more 
than fiendish, in violation of their express stipulations, 
firing upon the unarmed and unresisting. Such arc the 
images that now start at the name of Altom. Are they 
mere horrid phantoms ? Would to God thoy were 
so. (^h, no ! they have left enduring memorials in 
broken hearts, bereaved infancy, and untimely graves — 
they have left a community disgraced, freedom of speech 
awed into silence, and the majesty of law trampled under 
foot. In the dishonour of the American name, in the 
wound given to the cause of universal liberty, and the 
outraged feeling of mankind, they have left abiding mon- 
uments. The muse of history turns aside her head, 
and weeps, as she chronicles in crimson the record. 

I doubt not, you generally regret, as sincerely as I do, 
the guilty acts that have been perpetrated among you, 
and it is far from my wish, in thus addressing you, by 
exagjjerated statement, or high-wrought colouring, to 
swell that tide of reprobation and abhorrence, that is set- 
ling in upon you from the wise and good in all parts of 
our land, and which, I doubt not, will be increased by 



340 MEMOIR OF THE 

the indignant sentiment of all liberal Europe. Such an 
attempt would be most idle. No language can exagger- 
ate the naked atrocity of the facts — no oratory can deepen 
the dark colours of the truth. Amplification would 
enfeeble — the simple statement is the strongest — the 
plainest narrative the most condemning. But to inflame 
public odium is as far from my wish, as from my power. 
For you as a people, I have ever cherished sentiments 
of kindness and well wishing. And vindictive, indeed, 
must be the temper that would add to the griefs or dis- 
grace of your position. Other towns can often look back 
with pride to their early history, and relumine, in the 
associations of the past, the waning love of liberty and 
truth. Boston has her Faneuil Hall, Charleston her Fort 
Moultrie ; but Alton must wear it upon her escutcheon, 
in characters imperishable as the rocky bluflTs around 
her — that in her early youth she crouched, before not 
one, but an hundred masters, that in her, freedom of 
speech found its first American martyr — that she did all, 
than in her immaturity and feebleness she could do, to 
bury freedom of the press, and with it, the American Con- 
stitution, in a bloody grave. The sacrifices of life may 
have been small — that of principle was mighty — the in- 
famy of it, not the tide of all coming years, nor the flow 
of your ever-rolling Mississippi can wash away. Upon 
the internal and domestic situation, to which you seem 
to have sealed yourselves by this act, I can reflect onlv 
with pity and horrour. Deep and cruel as may have beeii 
the injury done to your country and your kind — the first 
and bitterest fruits you must reap in your own bosom 
Living in a community without law, with a blood-baited 
and fanatical populace for your masters, with the fatal 
evidence before you, that that populace can l)e restrained 
in the course of its impulses by no right, human or di- 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 341 

vino, but are ready ujion provocation to waste your city 
with arson and murder — the condition you exhibit is 
most deplorable. But add to this the fact, that that pop- 
ulace have, many of them, brought upon themselves the 
guilt and frenzy of murder, and have placed themselves 
in a situation which requires the perpetual prostration of 
law, and the permanent ascendancy of the mob, in order 
to their personal safety — and the frightfulness of the 
picture is consummate. 

Nor do I address you, because I think that with you 
the principles of liberty and morality are peculiarly un- 
sound, or that popular depravity with you is without 
parallel. Alas, it finds guilty fellowship in but too many 
places in our land. But the outrage perpetrated among 
you was one of aggravated enormity — both as it regards 
the individual, and principles sacrificed. It was no 
gambler, no ruffian, no malefactor defying or evading 
justice, whose blood is upon your hands. It was not a 
case where an indignant populace, in the impulse of an 
evil hour, inflicted a vengeance, due to its object, though 
rendering the avengers more guilty than the victim. It 
had not even the miserable justification of those instances, 
where, in a zeal for justice, all justice is trampled under 
foot, and in punishing one crime, are committed a thou- 
sand. It was a man, in the eye of human law, without 
reproach, a man of undoubted piety, and giving evidence 
of a devotion sincere, however misguided you may have 
deemed it, to the great cause of human rights — a man 
wrong, if wrong at all, only in iiis views of a great moral 
question, and in the fearless expression of those views — 
a man who, however imprudent or misjudging you may 
have thought him, you must at least acknowledge could 
not be deterred by self-sacrifice, or intimidated by the 
fury of the multitude, or seduced by popular opinion from 
29* 



342 MEMOIR OF THE 

supposed duty, but who dared in the assertion of the 
right even to die — it is for shedding the blood of such a 
man, that mankind hold you responsible. There was 
too at stake, not individual rights only, but vast princi- 
ples. Whether our General and State Constitutions, 
M'ith their solemn guarantees, should be of sovereign 
authority, or a mere splendid delusion and a snare, was 
in controversy. Moreover, he who strikes at the free- 
dom of speech, is guilty of treason, not only to his coun- 
try, but to his kind ; he strikes at the great means to the 
ultimate triumph of truth, and the anticipated improve- 
ment of the human race. It is these considerations — 
that the atrocity committed among you was provoked by 
no crime — that you made, as far as you could, a solemn 
oblation of the principles of universal liberty and of the 
future hopes of the race, upon the same ensanguined 
altar, that sink your hitherto fair fame far below the infa- 
mous murders of Vicksburg and St. Louis. 

Before entering upon the question of responsibility for 
the past events, permit me to remark, what should per- 
haps have been premised before, that in addressing the 
people of Alton in general, I do not mean to embrace, 
in any censure implied, that noble few, that to the 
utmost of their ability, defended the rights of the citizen, 
and the majesty of the law. To them, I would accord 
my humble tribute of respect and gratitude. From my 
heart I thank them, that they succumbed not to the fanati- 
cism of the populace, and the despotic ferocity of force. 

There are two means of preventing popular outrages, 
moral influence, and, in the last resort, physical force. 
The former is the more humane, and generally the safer 
and more efficient expedient, but where it fails, we must 
have recourse to the latter, or permit society to be broken 
up. Let me then ask of the people of Alton, are you 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 343 

satisfied, that in the use of both these means you have 
fully discharged your duty ? The approach of the evil 
was deliberate and gradual, and gave full opportunity for 
the use of moral preventives. Public meetings had been 
held, parties had been organized, and press after press 
destroyed. What means of counteraction or prevention 
had you employed ? Had you expressed your unquali- 
fied detestation of such outrages ? Had you endeavoured 
to rectify public sentiment and to arouse the community 
to consciousness of its guilt and its peril ? Had you 
fearlessly indicated your uncompromising hostility to the 
adoption of lawless means under any pretext or against 
any evil ? or did you palliate, or at least divert public in- 
dignation from acts you could not justify, by condemning 
the obstinacy and fanaticism of a man, who would not 
consent to silence his press at the will of a mob ? Of 
the influence you exerted in private and domestic inter- 
course, I have no knowledge except from results ; the 
inference they would warrant I will not draw. Of your 
endeavours to correct the popular mind by your public 
acts, your public resolves, and solemn expressions of 
opinion, we have, unhappily for your fame, your own 
record. It is difficult for an American to read that record 
without a burning blush. You had been expressly called 
together to consult for the tranquillity and order of your 
city. Repeated instances of lawless violence had taken 
place, indications of an anarchial spirit were thick around 
you. You had full reason to be aware of your danger, 
and of the responsibilities under which you were acting. 
And what was the question which was convulsing your 
community ? It was whether an American citizen 
should be permitted to exercise a most sacred constitu- 
tional right, or forego it at the pleasure of the mob. The 
vast importance of the principle at stake was most 



344 MEMOIR OF THE 

obvious. The case was too plain to admit of argument. 
Did you then, like independent and enlightened men, 
meet the exigencies of the crisis by the decided nature 
of your resolves ? By strong remonstrance, and unquali- 
fied rebuke, did you attempt to stay the popular infatua- 
tion and iniquity ? Especially did you determine to sus- 
tain the law in all cases, and at all hazards ? Resolu- 
tions to this very effect were brought before you. How 
could you have done otherwise than adopt them ? Yet 
these, you rejected ; and on what grounds ? Because 
it was said they put one parti/ entirely in the wrong : they 
would have done so. The parties were the American 
people and a gang of ruffians. And so because resolu- 
tions for sustaining the law and the constitution would 
have " put one party entirely in the wrong," they were 
to be rejected! What spirit of delusion, what smooth- 
lipped Belial could have induced you to swallow down 
such logic ? One would have thought your understand- 
ings, if not your consciences would have retched at it. 
And what did you adopt in their stead ? A resolution to 
enforce the laws until the report of your committee was 
received. And what was the report of that committee ? 
A set of resolutions which in their popular impression at 
least, justified the mob by condemninir the object of their 
hate — which recommended to him a removal from your 
city, and a sacrifice of his constitutional rights to a rabble 
of rufl^ians, and called it compromise. History, I appre- 
hend, will pronounce it compromise, on your part, of 
duty and right, of honour and safety. Those you adopted. 
Did you, then, the report of your committee having been 
received, renew your resolution to enforce the law, and 
that without limitation ? No. Why did you not ? Was 
it that you darrd not, or that you wished not to do so? 
And wljut was the concluding resolution of this peculiar 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOV. 3 15 

assemblage, introduced by one, who, 'most of all must 
have felt the responsibilities of his position — your 
Mayor ? An expression of regret at interference from 
abroad in the matters of your city and comnmnity ; as if, 
forsooth, wresting away the rights of any American citi- 
zen, and introducing into your state the pernicious pre- 
cedent of mob violence triumpliing over the freedom of 
the press, and infecting the body politic with this foul 
leprosy, were simply a domestic concern. As well 
might you consider firing one's house in the midst of a 
vast city, or importing into it garments infected with the 
plague, as merely aflecting an individual interest. What 
must the introducer of the resolution have thought of it 
on that shameful night, when at last he found that there 
was no salvation for itself in Alton, and that his staff of 
office was but a polluted and paltry gewgaw ? Wlien he 
was compelled to become envoy truly " extraordinary" 
for the mob, he must have felt little disposed to deprecate 
aid from any quarter. He would, I imagine, have felt 
relieved at the sight of an army of intermeddlers, and 
that with the sword and the bayonet. Thus, having 
irritated the ferocity of the populace against their des- 
tined victim — having set your seal upon prejudices you 
ought to have enlightened — having sanctioned ulterior 
violence by a resolution of limited resistance, and by 
neglecting to renew that resolution — having given the 
mob a triumph by failing to take a fearless and unflinch- 
ing stand in favour of civil rights, with a few faint salvos 
for the honour and majesty of law, your assembly, which 
happily has few parallels in modern times, broke up, 
losing an opportunity which was never to return. I 
firmly believe, if even at that late hour, you had taken the 
high and determined position you ought to have taken 
long before, if with your disapprobation of the course of 



346 MKMOIR OF THE 

Mr. Lovejoy, did you deem it necessary to express it, 
you had united a declaration of your fixed and unqualified 
purpose to sustain the law at all hazards, all yet might 
have been well. This you would not, or you dared not 
do. The occasion was lost ; and blood and tears were 
to follow, of which what has already flowed may be no 
more than the first faint shower-drops. Such, as far as 
I have been able to learn, is the nature and amount of 
the moral prevention you used ! 

Let us next inquire what was your conduct in the use 
of the second means of prevention specified, coercion. 
And first : after the destruction of former presses, what 
measures had been taken by the civil authorities, and by 
your citizens to guard against, or to punish these out- 
rages ? If any were made, that they were feeble, in- 
efficient, and heartless, seems inferable from the results. 
And finally, upon the day of the arrival of the last press, 
when indications of premeditated violence were rife all 
around you, what precautionary measures were em- 
ployed ? Your Mayor consulted the City Council on the 
subject, and — they refused to act ! Their reasons re- 
main in their own bosoms. The public demand to know 
them —they have a right to know them. Who were that 
City Council ? The infamy of such a seemingly fla- 
grant betrayal of trust, requires a definite rcstinsx-place. 
And at the last dark catastrophe, when the alarm bells 
had summoned you from your beds, and you saw a band 
of infuriated and drunken wretches besetting a ware- 
house, containing a number of your most respectable 
citizens, with deadly weapons — when you heard the dis- 
charge of fire-arms, and the blasphemies of rage, and the 
vows of murder, and saw them selling fire to the build- 
ing, and henuuing in the besieged with the avowed de- 
termination of burning the edifice and its occupants to- 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOy. 347 

gether — when you belield a mob of about one hundred 
and fifty, about lifly of whom only are supposed to have 
been armed, engaged in these atrocities, what was your 
conduct ? Undoubtedly your sympathies, if not your 
patriotism, were at length aroused — you eagerly ollered 
your services to your Mayor— you could not be restrained 
— you rushed to the rescue. No, alas ! no, not such 
were the facts. You looked quietly on, and saw the 
work of destruction and murder consummated ! 

For the above facts I am chiefly indebted, not to hear- 
say, or rumour, but to the published reports of your own 
meeting, and the statement of your Mayor. Whether, in 
view of the above facts, your consciences will acquit you 
of dereliction of duty, in the use of moral and coercive 
means — whether the public sentiment of your country, 
and the solemn tribunal of the human race, and the high 
Chancery of Heaven will hold you guiltless, is to you 
an inquiry of fearful interest. The decision, which all 
these might perhaps authenticate, it is not my wish to 
pronounce. My aim is not to upbraid, but to awaken to 
a serious and impartial review. Not, certainly, without 
the amplest evidence, should I feel warranted in bring- 
ing in a verdict of conviction of a guilt so opprobrious 
and so tremendous. Whatever justification the case ad- 
mits, will be carefully and gratefully listened to. That 
there are some among you, who deserve no share in the 
infamy of the above transaction, we know — that there 
are more we should bo glad to hope. That the individu- 
als, whose well-known and hitherto respected names are 
made to appear as endorsers for the transactions of that 
strange meeting, were blinded by fear and overawed by 
the mob, and were not guilty of deliberate wickedness, 
charity leads us to presume. l\^rhap.s it would bo haz- 
ardous for common virtue to be thrown in their situation. 



348 MEMOIR OF THE 

We can hardly give assurances how even ourselves will 
act, until circumstances have tried us. 

But it is vain to attempt to shift the blame by impugn- 
inor the motives and previous conduct of the Sufferer. 
To degrade him, were it in your power, would not exalt 
you — it would only add to the " deep damnation of his 
taking off" the coward malice that seeks shelter behind 
the carcass of its victim. To term him " rash," " head- 
strong," and " imprudent," is the strongest sentence of 
self-condemnation you can utter. Why was it " rash" 
or " imprudent" to exercise the most sacred of American 
or human rights — freedom of speech — in Alton ? Was 
it because he ought to have known that there was not 
law, nor conscience, nor patriotism, nor intelligence, 
among you, to protect him ? And if these elements were 
not found among you ; you, and not he, were responsible 
for their absence. Nor do the results, melancholy as 
they are, though they argue your delinquency, necessa- 
rily convict him of rashness. There are in moral, as in 
political conflicts, Thermopvl.es, where we must make 
a stand or perish — where yielding would be treason to 
our principles, our country, and our race — where it be- 
comes a most solemn duty to die ! Perhaps nothing 

less than the shedding of blood could awaken the con- 
science and salutary fears of this nation, and open its 
eyes to that dreadful Tarpf.iax, on whose verge it is 
tottering. Whether such was the fact in this case, it 
concerns not my present purpose to inquire. Nor is it 
of importance to examine the vulgar charge that he died 
with the blood of a ft-llow-being on his hands. The 
charge, according to the testimony of those who were 
"with him in the building, and who alone could know, is 
false. After the doors and windows had been broken 
in, and guns had been fired into the building, the fatal 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOV. 3 49 

shot was discharged from within, but not by Mr, Love- 
joy. But were the charge true, he had a right to shoot 
down that, or any other individual among the assailants, 
as he would so many beasts oi' prey. They were no 
more than midnight robbers. Pardon me — they were 
more, they were traitors. Had his hands been stained 
with the blood of a hundred of them, the decision of any 
court, human or divine, would have washed it all away. 
He had the right of self-defence, which is given to all — 
and he had in this case more, the direct warrant of the 
civil authority. The last act of Mr. Lovejoy does not 
imply the existence of any other emotions in his breast, 
than those which, with reference to other men, and other 
countries, and times, we are wont to ascribe to the high- 
est heroic virtue. As it regards the charge of an una- 
vailing waste of human life, nothing but the result 
proved it unavailing. It was the opinion of judicious 
men, that resistance to lawless violence, and the enforce- 
ment of law, were feasible ; and had the guard from 
the Upper Town been present, there is little doubt they 
would have been cllected. If we feel inclined to regret, 
that a minister of the gospel attempted to defend the 
rights of the citizen, and the laws of his country by force, 
this act should be viewed at least with indulgence, by 
those who are wont to regard with admiration, examples 
in their own Revoluiionary history, where the pulpit was 
exchanged for the battle-lield. Never was there a cause 
more sacred than that in which he fell. Nor will it avail 
you to charge him with having violated a pledge never 
to agitate the Slavery question in Alton. Such a pledge 
he never gave, nor had he a right to give. Such a pledge 
vou had no right to receive, much less to enforce. All 
that he did, or ought to have done, was to express an 
existing intention, subject however to his future views 
30 



350 MEMOIR OF THE 

of duty. And his right to print when, and where, and 
what he pleased, we must remember was not gained, nor 
could it be forfeited by the will of those to whom that in- 
tention was expressed. 

But it is not relevant to my present purpose to be his 
apologist or condemner. It is enough for me to know 
that Mr. Lovejoy was an American citizen, in the exer- 
cise of his undoubted right, and that for this, he was in 
the face of your city openly murdered. How obnoxious 
soever his sentiments may have been, he had unques- 
tionably the right to publish them, and for the abuse of 
this right he was amenable, not to a tumultuary, anarchi- 
cal power, but to the legal tribunals, and those only. 
This you knew, and you knew it was your most solemn 
duty to maintain the law at all hazards. Call him im- 
prudent, infatuated, fanatical, and nothing is easier than the 
application of such epithets of vague malice — it affects not 
the question of your duty — nor does it wash a single shade 
from the crimson of your guilt. Whatever may have been 
the desert of the individual, the constitution of your coun- 
try surely deserved not such a wound at your hands. 

Strange was it, even if no feeling of patriotism, or re- 
gard for the right moved within you, that you should 
have been so blind to considerations of self-interest. 
How could you look on and see a fellow-citizen sacri- 
ficed, and not read in the atrocious transaction a warn- 
ing of your own impending danger ? Strange, that you 
could behold the triumph of brute force over law in this 
instance, and not feel you were witnessing the creation 
of a tyranny whose gory hand would be over you all. 
Did you not feel the cold shiver of the chain fastening 
around your souls ? Infatuated men ! how could you 
see an individual murdered for the expression of unpopu- 
lar sentiments, and not feel you were hopelessly binding 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 351 

yourselves and your posterity to popular opinions, popu- 
lar measures, popular prejudices, and popular crimes — 
in short, never to act or speik but with the permission of 
the populace, however degraded or guilt-stained it might 
be ! Did you suppose that Ahomtioms.m was to be the 
last object of popular hatred ? How could you see liberty 
of speech smothered in blood in one instance, and not 
perceive you were creating a censorship over yourselves 
more jealous, fanatical, and intoleral)le, than that of the 
Chinese or Austrian, or the Ilomish despotism — that 
your own souls, the aspirations of your own hopes, your 
own reason and love of truth must henceforth whisper 
wizard-like from the dust? How could you fail to per- 
ceive that you were called upon to witness the obsequies 
of your own honour, and the consummation of your own 
shame — to set your seal to the act of your own enslave- 
ment, and of your deep and enduring disgrace ? How- 
could vou, in retiring to your homes, look your wives 
and children in the face ? Did you not feel that you had 
betrayed them — that the same red-handed power that 
had broken the heart of the wife, and made the child 
fatherless, might visit your own hearths with widowhood 
and orphanage ; or, at least, that they could be secured 
against such a visitation, only by your becoming passive 
and pliant slaves, and that to the most despicable and 
brutal of masters ? Should the violent and bloody spirit 
of the times, which you have at least tacitly counte- 
nanced, permit you to see old age, will this be a tale 
you will be proud to rehearse to your children ? When 
the frenzy and infatuation of the day have had their en- 
sanguined hour, and passion and party are silent in the 
grave, and impartial history shall take up the transaction ; 
will your descendants, think you, be proud to read your 
names in connection with the disgraceful story ? Aye, 



852 MEMOIR OF THE 

with the present indications of public feeling, and the ex- 
pressions of indij^nant reprobation coming in upon you 
from all parts of our land, from every sect and piirty who 
have a regard for even iheir intellectual reputation, and 
who do not wish to rank with ruffians in morals, you may 
well tremble, lest the day be not far distant when a man 
will blush to have been on the night of the srvrnfh of 
November a passive looker-on in Ai/rox. You will par- 
don my plainness of speech. Had this outbreaking of 
popular violence come upon you with sudden and whirl- 
wind fury, giving no warning of its approach, and ad- 
mitting of no resistance in its explosive and desolating 
development, the case would have been widely differ- 
ent. But no. The approaches of the evil were gradual, 
and were foreseen — time was given for all counteracting 
and preventive intluences, and for all recjuisite precau- 
tionar)' arrangements. The opportunity given for over- 
awing the spirit of violence, by the solemn rebuke of 
public sentiment, was abused to its exasperation — the 
resolution that you would hold yourselves at the disposal 
of the Mayor was rejected — no plan was formed, no 
measure was adopted, no precautions were taken by the 
civil authorities. The whole matter was left to chance 
and impulse ; and as the consequence, chance, and im- 
pulse, and misrule, and murder ruled the hour. The 
transaction seems to bear all the marks of systematic, 
deliberate, premeditated neglect or connivance. There- 
fore it is that my feelings ami languajre are strong. 

My remarks, thus far, apply to all who claim to be 
lovers of order and civil liberty, without distinction. But 
there is a class amonjj you professing a higher morality, 
a more purifying hope, and a more scrupulous and abi- 
ding sense of rijjhl than other men — a faith stronijerthan 
expediency, and holier than patriotism, and whit h eter- 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 353 

nally forbids that human fear or favour, or any power ia 
the universe, should make tliem swerve from duty, or 
wink at iniquity. Where, let me ask of this class, were 
you durint( the progressive scenes of this shameful dra- 
ma ? Did you, in view of higher motives, and more 
.solemn obligations of a mightier power, and more glori- 
ous example, stand by the right, when others, under the 
influence of interest, or fear, or worldliness, gave way 
before the tempest of wrong ? or did you yield to the se- 
ductions of pecuniary interest or worldly hope ? Did 
you succumb to a corrupt public sentiment, and truckle 
to the fanaticism of the mob ? 

Did you, in a Christian spirit, rebuke the spreading 
iniquity, or did you abet, or flatter, or palliate the spirit 
of lawless violence ^ Did you fear God or man ? In 
short are you conscious of having done all that Christian 
duty, your awful vows, and your everlasting self-conse- 
cration to the God of truth and right, demanded ? What 
course private individuals may have taken I know not ; 
but I feel assured, that in no community where the church 
possesses the numerical strength, and wealth, and weight 
of character, she is reputed to embrace in her various 
branches in Alton, could such a series of progressive, 
and finally triuniphant, acts of violence take place, with- 
out a gross dereliction of Christian duty — and it may be 
safely assumed, that had her professing members in that 
place, generally, acted worthily of the name they bear, 
these disgraceful outrages might h^ve been prevented. 
Ihit tliere arc some of you, whose names from either 
peculiar influence, or office, or activity, have been pain- 
fully conspicuous in these transactions. Is it not a fact, 
that a professed preacher of the gospel* in canvassing for 



♦ Rev. Cliftrles Mow t^r^.— Eds. 
30* 



354 MEMOIR OF THE 

a political ofiicp, publicly stated that he was for protect- 
ing the liberty of the press, but this was a case of its 
licentiousness — as if, forsooth, the mob, and not the laws, 
were to take cognizance of such licentiousness. Is it 
not a fact tliat clergymen of different denominations at- 
tended the first meeting called for tranquilizing your city ; 
and why was it, when resolutions embracing principles, 
fundamental to freedom of speech and civil liberty were 
brought forward, that no voice was heard from these in 
their behalf ? Is it not a fact, that one of the committee 
to draft resolutions, and one of the most prominent speak- 
ers at the second meeting, was a minister of Jesus Christ,* 
and that that individual, instead of standing forth the 
fearless advocate of law and civil right, gravely recom- 
mended to an American citizen, in the exercise of con- 
stitutional rights, in a Christian country, and in a com- 
munity claiming to be governed by law, the example of 
Paul, in a strange city, amid a dark-minded and pagan 
population, and under the dissolute, bloody, and venal 
despotism of Nero ? and that before it was ascertained 
that the civil authority could not protect him, and when 
the only necessity for the adoption of that advice grew 
out of the fact, that the adviser and those like him, would 
not, or dared not defend the constitution under which 
they lived? This advice, too, we are to remember, 
which, if given at all, should have been whispered in 
secret, was in the presence of the mob who stood ready 
to overcome the contumacy that should dare reject it. 
What a spectacle was this to angels and to men ! Why 
was that sacred man there ? I know it could not have 
been to cover with the sanctity of his office the llagi- 
tiousness of the proceedings : but why was he there 1 

♦ Kov. Juiwi H..-an.— AV/5. 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 355 

1^0 defend the right ? Why then did he not defend it? 
Intimidated, seduced, or deluded, he presents the dark- 
est and saddest of enigmas. By his sacred calling, as an 
ambassador of that ISavioir, who exhibited pureness 
amid the impure, benevolence an»id the malignant, and 
an uncompronjising rebuke of iniquity even unto death — 
by the mighty salvation he preached — by the souls of 
those dark-minded men around him, who were rushing 
on to madness and murder, he was bound to be right, 
though all the millions of mankind, and of created orders, 
had been with the wrong — he was bound to know that, 
as a representative and teacher of the Christian faith, a 
slight lapse in him would give to others a license wide 
as the tirmament — he was bound to know, that to liim, in 
no small degree was committed the honour of tliat faith 
in that community, and that in prostituting its influence, 
or dishonouring its character, his would be a guilt no 
secular or infernal power could share — the guilt of sacri- 
ficing the only element of moral renovation among man- 
kind. He was bound to remember, that he was to meet 
those misguided and guilty men, who he had full reason 
to know were verging on to crime, and, as the result 
proved, to murder, in a mighty assemblage, and before a 
more awful tribunal. To all this he was bound by obli- 
gations strong as immortality. But, alas ! the evil pas- 
sions which should have been rebuked, were exaspera- 
ted. The prejudices, he should have enliglitened, were 
abetted, the consciences which he should have aroused, 
were lulled to a fatal torpor. And here, then, let me 
ask, in view of these facts, (and to him it is a question 
of thrilling fear,) at whom, when the murderers shall be 
arraigned at the bar of the irreversible doom, will the 
bloody fingers be pointed? Strange was it, when he ac- 
tually withdrew the protection of law, and gave up the 



356 MEMOIR OF THE 

victim to his fanatical liaters— strange was it, he did not 
perceive, he was sacrificing the principles upon which 
his own religious liberty was based, and that that hatred 
and that triumph derived no small measure of their keen- 
ness, from the fact, that their prey was of his own order — 
a preacher of the gospel — and that that triumph would 
have been immeasurably enhanced, could the individual 
and his religion have been prostrated at the same blow "? 
W^hatever applause may have been rendered him, it must, 
in view of such facts, have arisen in his nostrils like 
the fumes of the pit — nor can it shut out forever the 
tones of that last, touching, solemn appeal and remon- 
strance, uttered by his slain brother, ere he was aban- 
doned as the mark of a lawless and most iniquitous per- 
secution : these, I am sure, will sometimes steal upon 
his hours of solitude and reflection, and the " voice with- 
in," I am told, cannot be entirely bribed to falsehood ; 
and its decisions, it jnust be remembered, are but the an- 
ticipated sentence of the power that gave it commission. 
With reference to the actual perpetrators of the out- 
rage, most of them, we are bound for the honour of the 
American name to presume, were of that refuse of so- 
ciety, which are wont to cluster around a commercial 
emporium, kennelling unregarded in the grog shop, and 
the gambling hell, till some demagogue or agitator calls 
them forth to personate the people, supersede the law, 
and take care of the public conscience andpul)lic morals. 
Many of them, in charity to the national character wo 
may assume, are beneath the reach of an enlightened 
public sentiment, either from an ignorance tliat cannot, or 
a prejudice that will not read ; or belong to those despe- 
radoes .in society to whom the whij), the axe, and the 
halter are the only arguments. Others there probably 
were, of slender intelligence and weak moral j)nrpose, 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 357 

but of inflammable passions, who under the inlliicnce of 
evil men, and mistaken opinions, knew not wliat they did. 
Such are indeed objects of pity, and upon evid»'nc(i of 
repentance are not to be excluded from forgiveness, con- 
fidence and kindness. But such, alas, were not all. We 
have reason to believe, that amid the immediate instiga- 
tors or actual perpetrators of the felony were some, 
whose tilled names, education enjoyed, profession in life 
and pride of standing in society, we should have hoped, 
would have kept them from such self-degradation — that 
there were those of eidightcned conscience and culliva- 
t.Ml intellect, who not oidy polluted themselves with the 
foul iniquity, but deliberately seduced others into it. 
\Viih reference to such, whether with utter recklessness 
of character, appearing openly in tlie transaction, or 
skulking in concealment, and instigating the wretches, 
they had not courage to lead — it matters not — language 
is inadequate to the flagitiousness and wickedness of 
their character. That your malignity was too strong for 
your regard to the right, or your love of your country, is 
perhaps no matter of surprise ; but 1 am surprised that it 
took no counsel of ultimate consequences. The act you 
were committing, by the interpretation of all courts and 
all codes, was murder. Why, in that guilty hour did not 
your good or your evil angel whisper you that, by the 
act you were perpetrating, you were putting yourselves 
and the laws of your country at an eternal issue ? Yes, 
between them and yourselves there is, and ever must be, 
war to the knife, a war of extormination, in which one 
or the other must perish. Public anarchy and ruin arc 
your only safety. Can you expect, can you be so im- 
pious as to hopo, to conquer in such a warfare ? But 
shoidd you prevail, have you yet to learn from the ad- 
monitions of history, that the instigators and leaders of 



358 MEMOIR OF THE 

popular frenzy, however ihey may triumph for a while, 
sooner or later feed the Brazen Bull their own hands 
have reared ? Sooner or later, themselves are gorged by 
the Anaconda which they are wont to caress, and whose 
hissing they pronounce excellent music. Did Robes- 
pierre and his compeers dream they were erecting the 
guillotin for themselves ? But did he, or Uanton, or 
Marat, sleep in bloodless graves ? Have you yet to 
learn, that there is an avenging Providence, which often 
forbids tliat bloody and violent men should make their 
last bed in peace ? But should you be left to the course 
of nature, are there no furies of the guilty mind, which 
the fugitive from human law can never escape, and which 
often make the guilty envy his victim the repose of the 
sepulchre ? An American citizen murdered, a home 
desolated, a wife widowed, a child made fatherless — 
these are recollections which will not fade with the fading 
excitements of the hour. From these you can never 
flee— no bars can protect, no concealments hide you 
from them, no flight can leave them behind — they are 
become a part of your own souls. The dreadful truth 
that you are murderers will follow you through all your 
future existence : in whatever scenes you may mingle^ 
beneath whatever sky you may repose, the grisly accu- 
ser will dog you. Though you essay to drown its voice 
in the madness of intoxication, or in the excitements of 
deeper and still deeper crime — vain will be the attempt, 
it will await you in the grave. Yea, in the last (;re.\ t 
CONGREGATION' the gory phantom will start forth, and ar- 
raign you at the bar of eternal justice. Much do I mis- 
judge, if the hours do not frequently come, when you 
would gladly hido yourselves in the grave, were it not, 
that secret " dread of something after death," which God 
has left as his witness and prophet in the souls of the 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOV. 359 

guiltiest, will warn you that the tortures you experience 
are but the faint and shadowy earnest of an immortal 
REMORSE. By the act you have committed you have 
also chained yourselves to the necessity of an unending 
war with virtuous public sentiment. Public opinion must 
be permanently vitiated, or you will become objects from 
which men will slirink as from something polluted, 
venomous, deadly. The dire and fixed necessity seems 
laid upon you of perpetually corrupting society, or of be- 
coming the objects of its deep and lasting abhorrence. 

And what have you gained by all this dreadful and 
guilty self-sacritice ? Whatever may have been the, 
faults of your victim, you have embalmed and canonized 
them. Whatever may have been the defects of his cause, 
or of his advocacy of it, you have done much, by your 
mad act, to identify that cause with that of freedom of 
speech and American liberty, and you have given its 
advocate rank among the apostles of humanity and mar- 
tyrs to the rights of man ; among the Vanes and Syd- 
neys of other times you have ensured his name a record, 
while the traducer and the murderer are forgotten in the 
grave. Instead of checking the cause, for which he la- 
boured, you have made the sympathies of this whole na- 
tion react upon you like an earthquake. You have vir- 
tually surrendered the field of argument, by a resort to force 
— you have made the name of the object of your hate a 
talisman and a pow*er, worth more to him, and his cause, 
than a hundred years of life. You cannot bury his shed 
blood in the eartli — it will have voice — it will plead 
louder than a thousand presses. From its every drop 
will spring an army of living antagonists. Did you dream 
that at this age you could muzzle free discussion ? You 
mit^ht as well attempt to muzzle J^tna. Did you hope 
to chain liberty of speech ? You might as well lay grasp 



3G0 MLMOIR OF THE 

upon Niagara. Did you think to oppose yourselves to 
the progress of free opinion ? You might as well throw 
yourselves across the path of the lightning or the whirl- 
wind. The nation, or consj)iracy of nations, that opposes 
itself to the course of free inquiry, opposes itself to the 
Providence of God and the destiny of the race, and might 
as well think to suspend the laws of nature, or stay the 
earth in her orbit. But that you, at the head of a drunken 
and swinish mob, with the force of an ignorant and bru- 
tish rabble, should hope to withstand the onward march 
of opinion, would provoke only contempt, did not the 
atrociousness of the attempt entitle it to indignation — it 
emulates only the sagacity of the animal that sometimes 
takes its stand upon the railroad track, and challenges 
battle with the locomotive. 

In reflecting upon your infamous course, you have not 
even the poor satisfaction of successful villany. Unhappy, 
infatuated men ! whose only safety lies in the dissolution 
of social order, the corruption of public sentiment, and 
the ruin of your country : or who, should the promptings 
of reviving virtue and patriotism be ever again feh, must 
fmd your highest duty, and the sole act of magnanimity 
and patriotism left you — an ig.vominious death. Never- 
theless, to that duty, and that act, I must commend you. 
Surrender yourselves to the justice of your country. 
Atone for your great wickedness by furnishing to your 
country the only use of which you are longer susceptible, a 
practical and fearful warning. Commending you to this, 
and to deep repentance before that Power which can 
pardon the penitent, and still maintain the majesty of 
law, I take my leave of you in commiseration and sorrow. 

Citizens of Alton ! If, in any respect, I may seem 
to have put mysoif in the unamiablo and most umlosiralih^ 
attitude of a public accuser, it is that I may stimulate to 



REV. E. P. LOVE.TOY. 361 

sober inquiry into the causes of past outrage, and the 
means of future prevention. This means, melancholy 
experience demonstrates, is to be found only in the lirra, 
fearless, impartial and universal maintenance of law. 
Abolition is not tlie last of unpopular doctrines ; nor do 
"vve know who, or what may next become obnoxious to 
popular odium. Nothing less than the stern enforce- 
ment of law irrespective of persons, or opinions, or cir- 
cumstances, will prevent persecution, proscription, and 
murder without end. This enforcement implies inflic- 
tion of penalties, as well as promulgation of commands, 
and involves in your case a melancholy duty with refer- 
ence to the past. The laws have been repeatedly, 
openly, and flagrantly violated among you — a public, pre- 
meditated, atrocious murder has been perpetrated. The 
course you may take with the ofl'enders, will settle the 
question in the eye of mankind, whether you have moral 
energ}' and political virtue enough remaining, to retrieve 
your disgrace, and recover your lost position. God for- 
bid that I should cherish towards the unhappy wretches 
implicated, any other than feelings of Christian kindness, 
and a desire for their repentance. God forbid that 
revenge should claim a bloody oblation for the shade of 
the murdered Lovejoy. Vengeance belongs to another 
hour, and a mightier hand. But the spirit of slain jus- 
tice does walk your streets, and clamour for expiation. 
Until that be given, no charm can lay her unquiet shade. 
She will wander up and down your city, she will whisper 
you in the darkness of the night — her sorrowing tones 
will steal upon the solitude of your repose, and her gory 
apparition will aflVight your slumbers. Ages to come, 
lier moan will resound among your clifls, and rise upon 
the roar of the Mississippi. Unless atonement be made 
to violated law, order and security can never be restored 
31 



362 MEMOIR OF THE 

among you — not, at least, until a generation unstained by 
this transaction have taken your places, and the oflend- 
ers are beyond the reach of human justice. 

AN AMERICAN CITIZEN. 



Remarks made at Rochester, at a meeting of the West- 
ern Convention of New York, January lOih, 11th, and 
12th, 1838. 

17. Resolved. That in the murder of the Rev. E. P. 
Lovejoy, in Alton, Illinois, by an uncontrolled and unre- 
buked mob, we feel that our country has lost a noble-hearted 
citizen, and an able and uncompromising defender of the 
liberty of the press — the cause of humanity a faithful 
friend ; and, while we acquiesce in the dispensations of 
Providence, we deeply lament his untimely end. 

January lOth, 1838. 
Alva.v Stewart, Esq. 

I am much pleased with this resolution. I can 
sympathize with the mover of it in all that he has ex- 
pressed in admiration of the martyred Lovejoy. I am 
glad to see this resolution brought in. There would have 
been a chasm in the proceedings of this convention 
without it. This subject, painful as it is, deserves our 
careful consideration. Nothing has happened in many 
years which has produced so electric an effect upon the 
public mind as this. Such a feeling so broad and deep, 
was scarcely excited when the great and enlightened 
Hamilton, the patriot and statesman, fell. Even when 
the father of his country slept the sleep of death, there 
was not a much greater sensation produced than now, 
when our brother Lovejoy has fallen. The gradual 
lapse of years brings with it decay and death, so that 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 363 

when our own Washington in his turn was swept away 
by the great destroyer, we all looked upon it as an event, 
mournful it is true, but still expected and unavoidable. 
But Lovejoy, in the prime of life, in the full career of 
extensive usefulness, was struck down by the assassin's 
steel. But he A;ll in the cause of liberty, and the true 
sons of liberty are aroused in his behalf. He fell, but 
the length and breadth of the land was agitated by the 
blow. Where is the newspaper that has not cast its cen- 
sure upon the murderers? What editor has failed to 
record his condemnation of the bloody deed ? 

But I want to comment for a moment on the facts and 
circumstances which led to this disastrous event. And 
when we look at them we may well thank God that 
there have been no more martyrs to this cause. But, 
indeed, there are many sacriticed at the bloody altar of 
oppression, martyrs who daily pour out their blood at the 
shrine of Slavery. Let us not forget that the life of the 
slave is one continued scene of martyrdom, equal in an- 
guish and horrour to that of Lovejoy. Sometimes it is a 
martyrdom of all life's holiest affections — of conjugal 
fidelity — of filial love — rudely broken and inhumanly 
sundered. But again, there are others who are as real 
martyrs to the system, and who as freely pour out their 
blood before it as ever Lovejoy could do. Let us not 
forget that thousands of human beings are annually sac- 
rificed on the altar of this Moloch of our country, and 
that each one of them has been crushed by tlio same 
spirit that laid our brother in the grave. 

The blind and perverse mob at Alton were only acting 
out public sentiment. They knew that the mobs at 
Boston, and New York, and Utica, were never called to 
account, and the sufferers never received redress, and 
why should not they escape with the same impunity ? 



364 MEMOIR OF THE 

Then when Mcintosh was burned alive, and no one 
dared to publish the facts lest the wrath of the feul fiend 
of Slavery should be wreaked on their heads, this was 
the signal for Lovejoy. The groans of the dying Mcin- 
tosh were ringing in his ears, and he braved the wrath 
of Slavery's minions, that he might plead against injus- 
tice. He published the facts and told the world of what 
had been done by Satan's power. But by so doing he 
incurred 'the wrath of the friend of Slavery, and his life 
was placed in danger. So loud, at length, became the 
clamours against him, that he thought it not safe to re- 
main at St. Louis, and therefore removed with his paper 
to Alton, and published the " Alton Observer." Again, 
on the 2d of October, at St. Charles, the house in which 
he was, being attacked by a mob, he was only saved by 
the self-devotion of his wife from being torn in pieces by 
the infuriated mob. And afterwards, when his three 
presses were successively destroyed, it was only the 
gradual approach toward the final consummation of the 
tragedy. But he felt that it was in the cause of liberty 
he had been engaged, and he had no right to withdraw 
from the contest. He took his life in his hand, and went 
forward, resolved to sacrifice himself rather than surren- 
der to oppression. And now we come to that last dread- 
ful night, that laid him in the dust, and I weep for my 
country when I look upon the scene. The workman- 
ship of God was destroyed. We saw a man of talents 
and of enterprise, of religious zeal and of ardent piety, 
the servant of God, and working in his master's cause, 
laying a poor corpse. I see what was done. Come with 
me and let us go into Mr. Oilman's warehouse on the 
night of the 7th of November. There we see a man, 
who, from the first attack had remained on his knees 
crying to God for help and for direction. He saw that 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOY. 365 

human aid was gone, none but the arm of the Ahnighty 
could reach them, and lie plead for mercy, and he did 
not lose his reward. How soon did he hear the invita- 
tion, well done thou ^ood and faithful servant, enter thou 
into the joys of thy i.ord. Yes, I can see the Saviour 
bending over the walls of paradise, and, from amidst the 
glory of his own home, calling to his faithful minister in 
accents of love and approbation, cheering him through 
his struggle, and as soon as his spirit escaped from its 
prison house of clay, affectionately receiving it into his 
own bosom. Perhaps the first saint to whom he was in- 
troduced on entering the spirit world was St. Mark, or 
St. Stephen the prolo-martyr, and who can imagine the 
joy with which those kindred spirits mingle with each 
other in that blest abode. 

But let us return to this earthly scene a little longer. 
Come with me to Alton, and we will look at the scene 
after the mob had passed away. It is night : — all things 
around are wrapt in silence. The stars arc reflected 
from the rolling Mississippi with their wonted lustre, and 
seem to shrink from beholding the awful events which 
have just transpired. But who can describe the object 
lying in yonder silent chamber. Never did the moon go 
down behind the rocky mountains looking back on so 
dreadful a scene. In that still chamber in the warehouse 
lays the stilVening corpse ; no friend is watching its re- 
pose, no taper gleams about his hut^el, he rests in silence 
and darkness, alone and unguarded in the dead of night. 
Fresh and gory from the tnurderous shot, he rests in 
death. Those eyes shall no more weep for human wo; 
no more shall they look with pain upon the crushed and 
suflering-slave. Those lips now rigid and unmoving 
shall no more pour consolation in the afllicted soul or 
plead for the slave's relief from the oppressor's rod. 
31* 



366 MEMOIR OF THE 

That noble right hand, the faithful servant of its master's 
mind, lies motionless by his side. Oh save that right 
hand from pollution, it is the best friend the poor slave ever 
had — but it shall never stir again till the resurrection 
morn shall awake the dead. Never again shall that pure 
heart be pained by the dying groans of the murdered 
Mcintosh — never again shall his soul be sickened with 
report of northern minister's recreant to the cause of the 
poor and oppressed, sacrificing truth and duty on the altar 
of popularity. But let us leave his cause with God. But 
let us forget not, that his wife and child have no protec- 
tion but our charity — then our homes shall be theirs, our 
kindness shall support them, our care shall guard them, 
our friends shall befriend them — and so shall we commend 
them to the God of grace, who is the widow's God, and 
the Father of the orphan. 

G. R. Parburt, ; 

Mr. President — Allow me to lay my small 
tribute on the altar where freedom bled. And though I 
may add nothing new to what has been said, I may at 
least repeat what should be kept in everlasting remem- 
brance. But perhaj)s, floods of tears would best express 
the feelings of my heart on this solemn occasion. I 
may mourn, indeed, since Lovejoy is no more. Since 
Lovejoy, the amiable, the pious, has fallen by the hands 
of assassins, Amerioan assassins, Christian American 
assassins, nature unreproved may drop a tear. He fell 
the victim of pro-slavery influence — he fell in a manly 
defence of the dearest rights of humanity — the rights of 
mind. Deprive me of property, of reputation, of friends, 
and the loss may admit of reparation. But wiicn I am 
deprived of the free expression of thought, then my no- 
ble nature is enchained — I am a free man no more. It 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOV. 367 

was for the security of this right Lovejoy bled. Noble 
martyr! Wliilc thought is free to scan the universe of 
God, tliy name shall live in sweet remembrance in the 
hearts of the freest of the free ! Thy name shall be an 
amul<!t from which, in all coming time, tyranny shall in- 
stinctively shrink. Not for himself, sir, but for y^u, for 
me, for us all, for this great nation, for the friends of uni- 
versal freedom throughout the world — he poured out his 
patriot blood. Had he abandoned the honourable post to 
wliich the Providence of CJod had called him, he would 
have acted unworlliy his birth, his education, the land of 
the pilgrim fathers, the cause he had espoused, and that 
Christian heroine who rescued him from the mob at St. 
(.'harlos, and who now lies bleeding on freedom's altar, 
the victim of Slavery, the continued expiation of this na- 
tion. But he did not abandon that post, environed as it 
was with reckless foes. He stood like a strong pillar, 
firm as the rock of truth on which he stood. The waves 
of popular commotion and of pro-slavery violence, dashed 
furiously around him, but every successive billow, as it 
broke in foaming rage, only proved that Lovejoy was 
there. Cahnly and self-possessed he breasted the storm 
at St. Louis, and then planted himself at Alton, where 
he rationally expected the omnipotent protection of law 
and public sentiment. But the demon of Slavery pur- 
sued him. Its heated breath swept over the elements of 
oppression, and kindled a pro-slavery conflagration. 
Again was the press consumed, and again met a like 
disastrous fate — but still the form of its protecting angel 
was seen walking amidst the flame, unscathed — serene 
as the heaven which sustained him, — fast maturing for 
its holier enjoyments, and more unfading glories. But 
now the hour of his departure was at hand. He bared his 
bosom to the sword — all was still — 'twas the silence of 



368 MEMOIR OF THE 

death. Illinois trembled — Alton fell to the ground ; its 
glory was departed. 

Come now, ye ministers of Jesus, and behold an am- 
bassador of your Lord, sealing the doctrines of humanity 
with his blood. Sublime spectacle ! Gaze on it till your 
spirit catch the mantle of your ascended brother, and 
your hearts expand with a martyr's love for your crushed 
brethren in chains. Weep, weep bitterly, not for the 
departed, but for the heaven-forsaken people who have 
imbued their hands in the blood of an innocent, unoffend- 
ing minister of Jesus. Lift up your voice, eloquent 
through grief, and demand, with the authority of your 
dirine commission, that the church cleanse herself of 
this guilt, by ceasing to shield a system prolific of deeds 
of which this is one, marked with odious and horrid 
peculiarities. 

Ye sentinels on the watch-tower of liberty, turn aside 
for one moment and contemplate this tragic scene. Like 
you, Lovejoy was stationed on the ramparts of freedom. 
But his was a dangerous post — a post of glory. He 
finished his work — now there he lies. Pale is that lofty 
brow, but not with coward fear. Mute is that tongue ; 
but it plead for universal liberty till death. Sealed are 
those lips ; but they ever scorned to kiss a tyrant's hand. 
Yonder lies the pen, that true Damascus blade of mind, 
which was wielded so skilfully and effectually against 
tyranny by that cold hand now paralyzed by the assas- 
sin's steel. And there are the fragments of the press, 
your own mighty engine of mental warfare, the palladium 
of liberty's self, stained with his blood so fresh and warm. 
And fofgtjt not his unexpiated shade yet hovers among 
you. liut return, now, resume your pens, arouse the 
great and miiliy nation from its extreme and passive tor- 
pidity, till it shake oil' that inexplicable stupor of oppres- 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOV. 369 

sion Avliich lias fallen upon it — or prepare yourselves to 
be slaves. Nay, rather let your bodies, like that of 
Lovejoy's, be laid among the fragments of the press, than 
that the dark spirit of Slavery should be permitted to en- 
ter the sacred precincts of the temple of liberty. 

And ye American mothers, ye daughters of the revo- 
lutionary worthies, come and weep over the untimely 
fate of the son of that New England mother who, when 
she learned that her son had been slain for the cause of 
truth, nobly exclaimed : It is well ; I had rather my soil 
should have fallen a martyr to his cause than that he 
should have proved recreant to his principles. A mother 
well worthy of such a son ! Mingle your tears with those 
of that mother, and those of the bereaved widow and 
the orphan. Press more closely to your hearts those 
babes you so much love ; but, remember, God only knows 
whether they shall be such orphans, and yourselves such 
widows. But, still with their daily nourishment let them 
receive the elements of purest patriotism, of holiest free- 
dom. Let their infant lips early learn to whisper Love- 
joy — Lovejoy and the freedom of the press. Tell them 
full oft the horrid tragedy of Alton. And when they go 
forth into the world bid them return, having valiantly 
maintained the liberty of thought, or with a mother's 
blessing lay their bodies beside the illustrious Lovejoy. 

But, ye slaveholders of the south, go now, and see a 
noble-hearted American slain at your bidding ! Who will 
restore to your country another Lovejoy, the meek, the 
dignified, the unyielding friends of the liberties of your 
nation ? Why did you command it ? What was his 
fault ? Was it not the defence of those principles, yo 
degenerate sons of noble fathers, for which your own 
Henry and your own Jefferson eloquently plead, and your 
own Marion and your own Washington exposed their 



370 MEMOIR OF THE 

bosoms to the Briton's bayonet ? See now the legitimate 
fruits of the danuuible tree of involuntary servitude plant- 
ed by your ancestry, and which your own hands have so 
long, and so assiduously cultivated. You have brought 
innocent blood upon this nation. See your own hands 
red with a brother's gore ; fratricides that ye are. Has- 
ten now to the city of refuge ere the avenger of blood 
overtake you. Let your penitential tears timely evince 
your sorrow, that your murderous stain may be blotted 
out. Bring forth fruits meet for repentance, by breaking 
every yoke and letting the oppressed go free. 

And thou city of destruction — for henceforth, Alton, 
shalt thou thus be known — come, come and behold the 
victim of your murderous spite. Look, ye men of Alton, 
on that gory form. See, ye cruel ministers of death, the 
uncompromising, the illustrious defender of freedom of 
thought stretched at your feet, yet noble in death, and 
your unhallowed hands dripping with his blood. What 
was your price, ye mercenaries in murder, that ye stain- 
ed the American soil with blood as rich, as pure, as ever 
traitorous British steel caused to flow on Bunker Hill ? 
Wliat was your price, that ye wounded liberty in the 
house of her friends ; that ye plunged your danger to 
the heart of the incarnation of the rights of mind ? Af- 
fect not to despise this deed ; ye have done it, and the 
civilized world will hold you responsible for the assassi- 
nation of Elijah P. Lovejoy. The sword of human jus- 
tice, drunk with the innocent blood shed in your streets, 
may slumber over you, but eternal justice only delays 
awhile to make yonr damnation surer. Aye, even now, 
barbarous men that ye are, the lightnings of your own 
reason consume you. Wherever ye go, in whatever 
ye engage, the avenger of blood haunts your guilty 
bouls. Not the hoarse laugh of your forced jests, not 



REV. E. P. LOVEJOV. 371 

the o:loom of sullen silence, not the darkness of the 
inidni«(ht hour can shut out from your sight the murdered 
Lovejoy : 

" All inward d;iy that never sets, 
Glares ruiu)d your souls and mocks your closing eyelids," 

ever revealing the form of tlic man of God ye slew. 



THE END. 



NOTE. 

We take this note from an account of the trials, now in 
press, of those defending-, and tliose who attacked the ware- 
house on the night of the 7th of November. John M. Krum, 
Mayor, was called and sworn. He w^as requested to give a 
connected account of all the disturbances, from the formation 
of the city government. After detailing the events which 
transpired on the evening of the 30th of October, at which 
time President Beecher preached, he proceeds : 

Subsequently to this, I was frequently called upon by Mr. 
Lovejoy, (now deceased.) Mr. Tanner, RofT, and others, and 
my opinion asked in regard to the propriety and expediency of 
organizing an armed force. I remarked that at present there 
was no organized militia force in the city, and no force upon 
which I could depend upon in an emergency. They thought of 
forming a military company, and they asked me, if in case they did» 
I would head it. I told them I could not, that my official situ- 
ation was such.as would render it impossible. Mr. Lovejoy, in 
particular, called repeatedly upon me, and said, that I ought to 
command a military force. I told him I could not consent to 
do so : that I never should do so unless it became necessary 
for the protection of the laws. We had repeated conversa- 
tions upon this subject, I repeatedly and I believe always told 
Mr. Lovejoy that it was within tlie province of any citizens to 
organize such force, if they deemed it necessary they could do 
it, if they pleased, at any time. Mr. Lovejoy stated to me, 
that they wished to organize their company under my sanction 
in an official capacity, and asked mo, if I would give such sanc- 
tion. I told him that I could not ; and explained to him the 
reason why 1 should feol bound to withhold it. > I told him what 
tlie provisions of the law, in regard to the formation of such 
companies, were : explained to him tlie mode of proceeding, 
necessary to be followed in the organization of their company. 



NOTE. 373 

Subsequently to this, I loaned my law books to some one 
who I understood was to join the company. 

Mr. Giluian, in an interview shortly after, told me that they 
iiad organized a company, and had put themselves under the 
command of Wm. Ilarned : he tendered me the services of the 
company, and said, that they would at all times hold themselves 
in readiness to obey any command I might issue. I replied, 
again thanking him for his readiness to act, so often expressed, 
and told him whenever the time should come, in which lijhould 
think the occasion would warrant me to call for their services, 
I should unhesitatingly do it. 

On the night of the sixth, or rather on the morning of the 
seventh of November last, at about three o'clock, Mr. Oilman 
and Mr. Roff came to my room and called me up. They stated 
that the press was coming — that the boat was in sight, coming 
up the river, and that Mr. Moore was upon the boat and had 
charge of the press ; that arrangements had been made to 
have it safely landed and stored that night, and they requested 
me to go down, and be present at its landing ; so that, in case 
of difficulty or distur])ance, I might be there to suppress it. I 
got up, dressed as (juickly as I could, and wont down to the 
river. I stood at Mr. Gilman's warehouse while the boat was 
Rearing, and till she landed. I did not go on board, I think. 
The hands of the boat put the press on shore, and removed it 
into the warehouse. I think I did not have conversation with 
any one but Mr. Oilman at this time. After the press was 
stored, I went up into the warehouse. I found some twenty or 
thirty people assembled : they were all armed, and again offer- 
ed me their services in aid of the laws. I told them, as I had 
repeatedly before, that at the time I did not see any occasion 
for their services, but that if occasion should arise, when their 
services should be needed by me, I should not only call for but 
should expect to receive their assistance. On the sixth, Mr. 
Oilman called upon me at my oflice, he introduced, as matter 
of consideration, the subject of the rights of citizens to defend 
their property. We had a long conversation, I gave him my 
opinion upon the subject, I think I read the law, and explained 
to hira its principles, I do not know whether he asked my ad- 
32 



374 NOTE. 

vice as mayor, as lawyer, or as a friend and citizen. I did not 
consider that I was then advising him as Mayor. In the course 
of our conversation we spoke of our nmnicipal regulations, I 
told him I thought they were exceedingly deficient, and I be- 
lieve I mentioned in what particulars. He a^kcd nje if I would 
appoint special constables, said he apprehended danger to his 
property. I told iiim that I had no authority to make any such 
appointment, that I would cheerfully do all I could, — that the 
Council would meet that day, and that at their meeting I would 
lay the whole matter before them. When the Council met, I 
did make the application, but I did not recommend in terms 
the appointment of such officers. I left the whole matter to 
the action of the Board. I was absent at the next meeting of 
the Council, when the records were read or I should have no- 
ticed the mistake in the record, and had it corrected. 

On the evening of the 7th of November last, Mr. Gihnan 
and Mr. Chappell called at my office. They told me they ap- 
prehended an attack would be made upon the warehouse, as 
they had understood the mob were determined to destroy the 
press ; that a number of armed men had assembled and were 
then in the building for the purpose of defending it ; and that 
they had come to the resolution of remaining there, and de- 
fending it at all hazards. They asked me what I thought of 
their determination. They spoke of the rumors they had 
heard in regard to the determination of the mob to destroy the 
press. At that time, all was quiet in the city, so fur as I know, 
and I had but a little while before been hi the streets, and ob- 
served nothing which led me to suppose an attack was in<'dita- 
ted. I did not believe an attack would be made. I had exerted 
myself tliat day, as much as I was able, and luul endouvoured 
to get all the information which was possible. People seemed 
to shun me, and were very reluctant to communicate with 
me at all, and I could succeed in getting no information, which 
should have induced me to believe any design to destroy the 
press was meditated. Mr. Oilman asked me what I thought 
of the armed men who were in the building, remaining there 
for the purpose of defending their proix;rty. I told him, in 
my opinion they had an undoubted right to be there ; that they 
might rightfully remain there, and that they would be justified 



NOTE. 375 

in defending" their property. 1 did not understand them as 
making- this application for advice to me, as Mayor. Mr. Gil- 
man stated to me that they were well prepared with arms, — 
that they should remain there during the night, — that they 
were fully determined to defend the press, and the building, — 
and that if the attack, which they apprehended, was made, 
they wished it to be understood that their services would be 
ready to execute any order they might receive from any civil 
orticer. 1 replied to them, that, if the emergency should re- 
fjuire the aid of armed men, I should not hesitate a moment in 
coinmauding the men who were assembled there to suppress 
the riot, hut that 1 should be the sole judge of such an emer- 
gency. He repeatedly asked me what I thi)U<Tht of their be- 
ing there. I never ordered any man to repair to the ware- 
house ; but in every instance, I was informed that they had 
already repaired there. Mr. Gilman repeatedly told me, that 
all he desired was to act under the authority of law, and the 
civU ot!icers. At\er Mr. Gilman left, I remained in my office 
till between nine and ten o'clock. 1 stepj)ed in to Dr. Hart's 
office at that time, and while I was there, I heard a number of 
people passing by. There were from fifteen to twenty. Im- 
mediately came down stairs. I recognized two of the crowd ; 
one of them had a gun. 1 got my overcoat, prepared myself, 
returned to the street, but saw no one. I came down to Mr. 
Robbins' ot!ice, — sent for Judge Martin and other civil officers^ 
and waited some time for them to come — Mr. Robbins and my- 
self finally started together. As I was going down the stairs 
I heard two reports from fire-arms, — from the sound, I thought 
they were pistols, — the reports seemed to be low, I soon heard 
another which I took to be a gun. I hastened up, and soon 
saw people carrj'ing a man, — it was Bishop. I stepped up to 
them and asked if any one was hurt, — they replied yes, one of 
our men was shot — T asked if he was much luirt, — they said 
they thought not. They seemed much excited, — I endeavour- 
ed to persuade them to disperse — a crowd gathered round me ; 
I addressed them, and used all the means in my power to in- 
duce them to disperse. I asked them what they intended to do. 
They said they were detennined to have the press. Some one 
proposed that I should let those inside the warehouse know that 



376 NOTE. 

they wanted the press ; tliat tliey would have it at all events, 
and said, they would retire while I went in and communicated 
their determination. I acceded, supposing that if we could 
once get them scattered, the excitement would subside and we 
could then control them. They retired, and I went to the 
warehouse. Mr. Oilman opened the door, and let me (with 
Mr. Robbins and I believe Mr. West also,) in. He, Mr. Gil- 
man, asked me how many outside were injured, if any. I told 
him there was but one injured, so far as I knew, — that there 
were but few outside. I then told JMr. Gilman \<'hat the mob 
said they wanted, and the deterhiination they had expressed ; 
and I also stated my impression, that, when I went out, we 
could control them. I staid in the warehouse son^e time pur- 
posely, longer than I other^vise should, in order that the ex- 
citement should subside, as I had no doubt it would. 

While in the warehouse, I went up on to the second floor. 
I saw there, Gilman, Ijovojoy, Walworth, Long, and (I think, but 
am not positive,) Hurlbut, and some others. I think I saw some 
arms about the walls. Gilman, Long, and Lovejoy, had guns 
in their hands. Gilman told me that two or three guns had 
been fired from the house. Deacon Ix^ng asked me if they 
were justified. I replied most certainly, I thought they were. 
My impression was that we should be able to quell any further 
disturbance, when we went out ; and I so expressed myself. I 
had no idea any further attack would be made. 

Question by W. S. Gilman. — On the night of the 6th when 
I called you up, and you went down to the warehouse, did you 
not go into the building before the press was landed ? 

Answer. — Yes, I believe I did, I think I did. 

Question. — Did you not ask me to go out, and did I not go 
out and stand by your side on the wharf at the time the press 
was landed ? 

Anstver. — Yes, you did. 

Question. — When the press was landing, did I not ask you 
to go down and receive it, and did you not say that as I was tiic 
owner, I had better go down and receive it, and you would bo 
by my side 1 

Answer. — There was a proposition of that kind made, and I 



NOTE. 377 

believe I made it. I thought as you owned it, you ought to be 
there to receive it when it was landed. 

Question. — Did you not tell us we had better not leave the 
warehouse, not even to go to our meals, without some being 
there to guard it ? 

Ansurr. — I think I told you, you had better keep a guard 
there, or something to that effect. 

Question. — Did I not seem anxious to know what to do ? 

Answer. — You did : you appeared anxious that whatever waa 
done should be done under the sanction of the (;ivil authority. 

Question. — What course did you say you should take in case 
the press should be attacked ? 

Ansicer. — I told you that if there was any danger that the 
people should attack the press, I should order them to desist, 
and should warn them of the serious consequences which would 
follow any attempt on their part to disturb or destroy the press. 

Question. — Did you not say that if tlie press was attacked, 
vou siiould first order the mob to desist, and that if they per- 
sisted you should then order us to fire ? 

Answer. — I believe I did. I said I should if it became ne- 
cessar}'. 

Question. — Did you not at this time consider you appeared 
there as Mayor. 

Ansuvr. — I dul. I once agreed in one of the interviews I 
had with Mr. Oilman, to appoint Captain llarncd a special 
constable at his (Mr. Oilman's) request ; but afterwards, upon 
examination, I found I had no autliority to make such appoint- 
ment. I did not consider the armed force at the church, or at 
the landing of the press, as organized under my authority. 

I have lived in the city for nearly five years. Godfrey and 
Oilman built the warehouse which was attacked : it has been 
in their possession ever since I have known the place. 

I heard no noise in the warehouse, on the night of the 7th. 
I saw but few persons there, I saw Mr. Oilman first, on the 
lower floor ; I saw Mr. Long, Lovejoy, and Ilurlbut, and I pre- 
sume others, but do not recollect who. 

I know Mr. Oilman to be an orderly citizen. I gave no or- 
ders while I was in the building, either to Oilman or any 
ono else restraining them from firing, or doing any thing else. 
33 • 



378 NOTE. 

I saw no occasion for doing so. I thought they had a right to do 
as they were doing. When I went out I commanded the people 
assembled there to disperse. Had I seen any thing riotous on 
the part of those in the warehouse, I should have ordered them 
to desist, I should have commanded tliem to disperse. When 
I first went up, the front of the store had been broken in. Some 
shot struck my hat while 1 was addressing the crowd. The 
gims were fired outside the building, and I thought from tlie 
south-east corner of the warehouse ; there were three guns 
fired at the people who were raising the ladder to the ware- 
house. I supposed the shot which reached me was fired at 
them ; and I afterwards ascertained that I stood about in the 
direction. 

The two first discharges were from tlie outside, and they 
were the first which were fired, 1 think. 

Quest ion by Defendant's Counsel. From all the circumstan- 
stances in the case, have you any doubt that Mr. Gilman in 
what he did, supposed he had your sanction ? 

Ansicer. — From all the circumstances, I am induced to be- 
lieve that Mr. Gilman supposed he was acting under my au- 
thority. While I was in the storehouse some conversation 
took place about the rigfht which a man had to defend his pro- 
perty. I uniformly told them that they had a right to be there. 
I told them they were justified in defending their properly, but I 
told them so as a lawyer. While I was in the warehouse, I 
told them if they were out of doors, I should command their 
aid in suppressing the riot, but that I could not command them 
while they remained thero. 

Cross ejcamined. Wiiile I was in the building, I gave no 
directions to those inside as to the mode of resistance they 
should adoj)t. I considered that they acted uj)on tlieir own re- 
sponsibility, but I pave them my legal opinion. I took the 
message which the mob requested me to take, and communi- 
cated it to those inside. I told them that the mob swore they 
would have the press at aU hazards. Gilman replied, that they 
had resolved to defend the press at the risk of tlioir lives, and 
that they could not give it up. I saw Gilman, Lovojoy, Hurl- 
but, and Long, and I recollect of no others now whom I saw 
with guns. 



NOTE. ^"^^ 



In my remarks to the mob, T returned the lanjruago of Gil- 
man ; I spoke to them of the dangers Uicy were m, the laws 
they were violating, and the penalties they were mcurring by 
the breach of those laws. 

Question by Under f,yr GavemmenL—Did Mr. Oilman ever 

teU you what principles that press was intended to advocate . 

Ansicer.-l do not tliink he ever did. Ho once told me that it 

was not determined whether the press should be established 

here, or at some other place. 

I do not know that I ever heard Gil.nan say any thing about 
keepincr Mr. Lovejoy here, or persuading him to go oft. 

I never did confer upon those who were inside any anthonty 
to assemble; or give then, any order to fire upon the peoj^le 
outside. I endeavoured in the interviews I had with Ur. Oil- 
man to explain to him the law. 

Qnesiion by Lhuler for Government.-Dul you ever state to 
ISIr. Oilman that he could not resort to violence, unless under 
the direction of an officer of the law ? 

Armver -I do not think I ever did. I told him that every man 
Imd a ri.rht to defend his person and property, and to use violence 
if it wasliecessary, and that each man must judge of his cxtremit)-. 
1 repeatedly stated to him, that whenever a case presented itself, 
when I thoucrht the emergency required it, I should not hesitate 
to call upon those men, or any other, to aid m3 m maintaining 
order ; but, I thought it must be an e.xtreme case which would 
justify such a course. 1 advised Mr. Oitan, in case of any 
disturbance, to address the crowd in the first place ; I thought 
be took a correct view of the matter. I told him what course 
I should probably take if I was placed in a simdar situation ; 
but in all instances I advised him as a friend, and a citizen, and 
not as an officer. 1 might have been desired to remain in the 
building, at the time I went in. 1 think 1 was, and that re- 
plied that I could have more influence with he crowd o of 
doors. At the time I addressed the crowd, after I came ou of 
he warehouse, I think 1 stated to them, tl-t unless they d.s- 
porsed thev would be fired upon by those in the building. If 
rrecoUect-right, the mob made no reply. Theyadv.sed me to 
iret out ofthe wav and sohomc. 
^ (i,.s,ion hy MnulanCs C.mnsel.-M the fmc you stated 



380 ^'OTF.. 

to Mr. Oilman and others, that if they were outside you should 
command thom to aid you, was any i)roposition made by any 
one for them to go out 1 

A nsicer.— There was no proposition made by them, or to 
them, to go out of doors. They expressed their readiness to 
obey any orders I might give them. 

Question by L'uukrfor Government.— D\(i you give them any 
orders 1 

Answer. — I did not. 



13 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 

Page 

Grandfather— Parents— Extracts from funeral sermon of 
father, 

CHAPTER. H. 

Birth— Early ami ardent desire for knowledge- Sports- 
Seeks a public education— Enters College— Poetry while 
there — Graduates — Poem, 17 

CHAPTER HI. 

Leaves for the West— Poetry— " Farewell"— "Wanderer;' 27 
CHAPTER IV. 

Arrives at St. Louis— Letter to Parents— Deep conviction 
of sin— A<-countofcon version— Determines to prepare for the 
mlni.^try — Letter from Parents, . . . ' • 3\- 

CHAPTER V. 

Arrives at Princeton— Letters to Parents— To Brothers 
and Sisters, • ^' 

CHAPTER VL 

Returns to the West— Becomes Editor of the St. Louis 
Ql.^erver— First article— Extracts from paper— " What is 
Truth 1'—" The past year"—" Faith"—" Conversion of the 
^orld"— " Europe"— Sickncss—"Vain Philosonhy"— "Vani- 
ty of man"— "Sir Isaac Newton"- Sabbath at "Apple Creek, 67 

CHAPTER YH. 

Further extracts— " Transubstantiation"—" Nunneries" 
'• Why discuss the subject of Popery 1"— "St. Louis Argus," 103 

CHAPTER VHL 

Views on immediate Abolition—" Slavery'— Letter from 
the Editor of the Observer, H7 

CHAPTER IX. 

Marriage— Note of Publishers of the Observer— Of Pro- 
prietors—Letter from the same to the Editor— Resolutions of 
the citizens of St. Louis— Appeal lo fellow-ciiuens . 133 



382 CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER X. 

Page 
Letters to Brother— To Mother— To Archibald Gamble, 
Esq. — Burning of Mcintosh — Charge of Judge Lawless — 
Removal of the Observer to Alton, 155 

CHAPTER XL 

Arrivalat Alton— Mob— Letter to Brother- To Mother- 
Extracts from the Observer while at Ahon — "The bubble 
burst" — "To Rev. Asa Cummings" — "Amalgamation" — 
Boston Recorder— Christian Mirror—" The right remedy" 
— " Fault finders," ' ... 180 

CHAPTER XH. 

'Petitions— Stale Anti-Slavery Society — Anti-Abolition, 
called the 'Market House Meeting'" — Pledge— Extract 
from first number of the Observer — Corrcspond'-nce — Ex- 
tracts from the Missouri Republican — Destruction of the 
Observer Ollice — Escape of the Editor from the mob — Expo- 
sition of ami-slavery sentiments, .... ,211 

CHAPTER Xni. 

Appeal to the friends of the Alton Observer— Response to 
same — Conditional resignation of the Editor — Meeting of 
friends to consider the same — Letter to Rev. J. Leavitt giv- 
ing account of mob at St. Charles, 245 

CHAPTER XIV. 

Meetings of the Colonization Society — State Convention- 
State Anti-Slavery Society formed---Pub!ic meeting— Re- 
marks of Mr. Lovejoy at the same— Arrival of tiie press — 
Civil authorities — Press saOly landed and stored — Descrip- 
tion of the warehouse where it was deposited — Account of 
armed mob — Warehouse set on fire — Death of Mr. Lovejoy 
— Burial— Family — Poetry 2G1 

CHAPTER XV. 

Concluding remarks — Letter of Dr. Chaplin— Extracts 
from Mr. McKeen's sermon — Public meetings — Voice of the 
rre.s.s, 296 

CHAPTER XVL 

Extracts from address to ritizrns of Alton — Speeches of 
Messrs. Stewart and Parburt. S.'W 



687 



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